Holidays of Symphonia
by Arctic Husky
Summary: Sure, the ToS characters are world-saving heroes, but even heroes celebrate holidays! And... well... their fashions of celebration are nothing less than interesting... (Happy Easter)
1. Christmas

Well, last year when I was writing a lot of Soul Calibur fanfictions, I began a 'holiday' fanfiction; each chapter the characters celebrated a different holiday... So, now I want to do the same thing with ToS! Only this time I shall see it through and it will not be deleted. (Heh, heh… script format...) Chapter one is – in case you couldn't guess – Christmas! And this holiday shall take place in Meltokio, at the Wilder residence.

Unlike my other ToS humour fic, "The Quest for True Love", this story is much more based around randomness, which – unfortunately for some readers – contains OOC-ness. For that, I apologize... but I hope you like it nonetheless. Some of the characters are still pretty much in character, though. Oh! And there is certainly hinting at romance! (Extremely blatant hinting at that.) The pairing that you will be seeing – either in this chapter or upcoming ones – are Sheelos, Gesea, Colloyd, and methinks a little Kraine.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Tales of Symphonia characters, although that would be sweet 'cause they rock.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

)Chapter 1 – Christmas!(

"Why did you call me here, Zelos?"

The Chosen of Tethe'alla had his typical smirk on his face as he stared at his guest, the one and only Kratos. "Well, Kratos, as you know I'm hosting the greatest Christmas party that this world has ever seen!" The Seraphim of Cruxis merely nodded out of courtesy, not quite believing that Zelos' party would be 'the greatest that this world had ever seen' because, well... when you've been living for thousands of years, you see some _crazy_ parties. "Anyway, I've heard some rumours about Welgaia's liquor..."

Kratos raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "What have you heard about it?"

"That it's strong." There came no response from the elder angel, so _naturally_ Zelos took the silence as consent, "Good! Can you get me some, then? The legal age in Welgaia is a thousand, so I can't buy it myself... and I **need** it to make my reluctant hunnies willing to—I mean... to make my party classy and elegant... yeeeess..."

With a sigh, Kratos answered, "Very well. You'll only learn your mistakes if I allow you to make them... just like the errors that I made while drunk on Welgaia alcohol..." Kratos drifted off into his own little world of flashbacks from when he was wasted: _"I left Mithos to marry Anna, agreed to name my son 'Lloyd'... Pft! Lloyd, what with its two L's together at the beginning of the name... I bet whoever came up with **that** was drunk on Welgaia booze!"_ Unbeknownst to himself, Kratos was now chuckling aloud while staring into nothingness.

"Eh..." Zelos poked Kratos in the arm, trying to get the Seraphim's attention, but to no avail. The Chosen then decided that it would be more productive to poke Kratos in the _eye_, so he did so... and it hurt.

"Aah! Aah! My eye!!" shrieked Kratos as he held his hand over his right eye, "I'm going, I'm going!!" Wanting to get as far away from Zelos as possible, Kratos ran out of the mansion and then flew away to Welgaia... to get beer... niiiiice.

"That's one chore done!" Zelos announced, brushing his hands together in a 'that's the end of that' manner. "Now... to decorate the tree..." he looked the unnecessarily tall pine tree up and down, seemingly plotting how he would decorate it. A conclusion was finally made, and Zelos shouted, "Sebastian!! Come and make the tree as pretty as me!" He then sat down on the couch.

Zelos' personal slave... butler... came rushed down the stairs, dish towel in hand (for no apparent reason), and proceeded to 'make the tree pretty', as his master put it. While Sebastian was enthralled in beautifying the tree, the doorbell rang. Zelos sprang up from his seat, "I'll get it!" He dashed to the front door and swung it open to be greeted by _all_ of his friends: Lloyd, Sheena, Colette, Raine, Genis, Regal, and Presea. "Helloooo! It's good to see you all here!" the Chosen greeted with a grin.

"Hello, Zelos!" Colette squealed gleefully as she gave him a big hug, "I'm _sooo_ happy to see you! Meltokio is **so** nice with all of the Christmas lights, and the trees in people's windows, and the laughing and the **joy**!!"

Everyone else was silent.

"Uhm..." for once in his life, Zelos was not sure how to react with a girl's affection, "...I'm glad you're so content, my angel, but... you're kinda creeping me out."

Colette pulled away from Zelos, "I'm sorry," she said with a light laugh, "So... are we the only ones coming to your party? No Kratos, no Yuan, no—"

"Groupies?" Sheena cut in accusingly.

"Now, now, _what_ would ever give you the idea that I'd invite my Meltokio hunnies to this intimate little gathering of..." Zelos' statement was interrupted by an energetic knocking at the front door.

Sheena's eyes narrowed into a glare, "You were saying?"

Zelos forced himself to chuckle innocently as he slowly pulled open the front door, sending in a swarm of his fangirls who promptly gathered around their god. ((A/N: Random fact – Zelos is the Greek god of enthusiasm! How awesome is that?)) "Ooh, Zelos!" they all exclaimed in singsong voices that made girls like Sheena cringe.

"I think it's safe to say that we'll be helping ourselves at this party," Raine stated plainly. Everyone else (excluding Zelos) nodded in agreement, and then dispersed themselves around different areas of the house. Sheena and Raine were both lounging about on the couches when Kratos let himself in through the open front door. Raine was the first to take notice of the Seraphim, "Oh, Kratos. I didn't expect to see you here..." her voice trailed off as she made an observation: Kratos was wearing a monocle on his right eye, "Ehm... may I ask why you're wearing a monocle?"

Kratos mumbled something under his breath, and then answered, "It was either this or an eyepatch; see from both eyes, or one eye. The choice seem obvious to me."

Sheena tilted her head, "Why couldn't you just get glasses whose prescription in the left eye was weaker than that of the right eye?"

Kratos was silent in a "..." fashion for a moment before responding, "Those lousy angels never gave me that option! Stupid lifeless beings never taking **my** needs into consideration!!" Raine and Sheena were both wide-eyed and staring at Kratos. "Ah-he-hem..." the angel cleared his throat, "Anyway, I am only here to deliver the requested alcohol," Kratos pulled out a random margarita glass and placed it on the small table next to the couch, along with a bottle of Welgaiaian ((I know what I just wrote)) wine. "Enjoy." And thus, Kratos exited once again.

"Hmph," Raine watched the Seraphim go, and when he was out of sight, she picked up the glass and poured some wine into it... scratch the 'some'; she filled it to the brim.

"Raine, is it really a good idea to drink that much alcohol in one shot?" Sheena questioned.

After taking a large sip of the wine, Raine replied, "I'm a teacher; I know what I'm doing." Of _course_ she does... chugging down the Welgaia wine like that... HA! She's going to be wasted soon. But in the meantime...

Zelos, for one reason or another, was now tied up in a pink, sparkly Christmas tree garland. A nervous laughter escaped the Chosen's lips, "Heh, heh... heh... Okay, my hunnies, I'm impressed that you were able to make a lasso out of a garland, but can you _please_ let me go now?"

"Oh, Zelos!" one of the girls giggled, "Why would we do something like that when we could do **this**?" All of Zelos' hunnies then commenced to take advantage of him in unmentionable/un-hunnylike ways... the poor man.

Sheena rested her head upon the sofa's armrest and closed her eyes, "Those stupid groupies are so loud..." she grumbled under her breath, "Do they have to rub in the fact that Zelos 'loves' them so much?" Upon realizing what she had just said, she sat up quickly and covered her mouth, then glanced towards Raine to see if she noticed her implication.

Raine seemed to be gazing blankly across the room when she finally responded, "Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Sheena. I was very distracted," she said in an abnormally emotionless tone, "Zelos' groupies seem to be gang-assaulting him in sexual ways."

"**What**?! How can they take advantage of him like that?!" Sheena shouted, only to once again realize what was being implied by her objection.

Raine was still staring in exactly the same direction. "Hmm?" she repeated the same phrase as before, "Oh, I'm sorry, Sheena. I was very distracted..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sheena disrupted, rolling her eyes. Raine took another sip of wine... from her _fifth_ glass, mind you. "I'm, uh, just going to go upstairs to escape all of the commotion." Raine nodded partially, just as fazed out as before. Sheena walked past Zelos and his mobbing groupies, and made her way up the stairs. She opened the door of the first room that she past, and stepped inside, slamming the door behind her.

"Was that Sheena just now?" Genis asked from his seat on Zelos' upstairs sofa.

"Yes. It would seem that she is upset about something," Presea observed rather robotically from _her_ seat on the couch.

Regal... was sitting in between the two 'children'. This got on Genis' nerves quite a bit because he wanted to be sitting as close to Presea as possible, but that lousy convict was in the way! "Indeed," Regal stated in regards to seeing Sheena. There was a long silence. "So... have I ever told you two about the time in prison when I got my handcuffs attached to the cell bars?" the noble-gone-criminal questioned, rather excited about the opportunity to tell this tale that was – apparently – rather amusing to himself.

Genis' eyebrow twitched slightly in frustration, "Yes... you have... about a **bazillion times**!!"

"To be precise, he has recounted this particular past memory twenty-seven and three sevenths times... You stopped him soon after he began the anecdote several times, thereby resulting in this total," Presea corrected so accurately that it was just plain creepy.

"I...I..." Genis lowered his head to face the floor, "I knew that..." Presea giggled slightly, which only agitated Genis more because _he couldn't damn see her because Regal was in the way_!! Finally having had enough of Regal's presence, Genis tried to push him off of the couch... which didn't work so well because, well... Genis isn't exactly huge... and Regal is. "Umph! Gotta... push him... off..."

Regal suddenly jumped up from his seat, causing Genis to stumble forward, "Well, I am off to the market for no apparent reason!" he announced with a grin, "Fare thee well!" And that's exactly what he did: went to the market. On the way to this so-called market, he passed by Lloyd and Colette...not that he bothered to speak to them, or that they bothered to speak to him.

"Oh, Lloyd! I'm sooo excited about celebrating Christmas; I had never even heard of it before!" Take a wild guess who made that comment. If you cannot guess, then you make me sad.

Lloyd had a smile plastered on his face while his hands were on his hips confidently, "Me, too!" he agreed, never losing his grin, "Do you have any ideas on what to get everyone for gifts?"

Colette placed her finger on her chin, pondering on the question, and Lloyd closed his eyes in deep contemplation. While their thoughts gradually drifted off of the original topic of presents, a mysterious man wearing a cloak decorated with an intriguing design walked up in front of the two Sylvarant natives. Of course, being the space-cadets that they are, neither Lloyd nor Colette paid heed to the man's presence. The shadowy person tapped his foot impatiently... and after a couple of minutes of waiting, he shouted, "**Snap out of it**!!"

"Aah!" both teenagers yelled in unison upon being broken from their thoughts abruptly.

"You wimps," the figure murmured, "Anyway... I couldn't help but hear that you were searching for gifts for your friends."

Lloyd stepped forward and looked up at the stranger, judging his masked appearance, "Yeah... and what does that have to do with you, Mr. Too-Ugly-to-Reveal-His-Face??"

"I am not ugly!!" the man retorted, but then cleared his throat calmly, "It has nothing to do with me; I just want to help you out, fools. Is it that hard to accept?"

With a complete change of personality, Lloyd concurred, "Okay! So what have you got to offer?"

"**This**!" the unfamiliar person announced, pulling out a random box from behind his cloak. He handed it to Lloyd, and without any more words – except for maniacal laughter that failed in comparison to Mithos' – he disappeared in a veil of bright, and for some reason, loud, **electromagnetic waves**!!

"Ooh..." the teens chorused again, being mesmerized by something as simple as a common form of magnetism... why magnetism created such an electrifying effect in the first place is beyond me, but y'know, it's just physics and junk.

The blinding flash of _electromagnetic waves_ spread across the entire town of Meltokio, and temporarily distracted Zelos' swarming mob of groupies. "Like, what in Tethe'alla was _that_!?" one of his fangirls exclaimed. All of the women began speaking simultaneously, trying desperately to figure out what the cause of that eerie light was. While they were all distracted, Zelos swiftly made a move for the staircase and... _escaped_! Whoo! Not wanting to be caught by the wandering eyes of one of his floozies, Zelos rushed into his bedroom, which, by coincidence, was the first room at the top of the stairs. Now, if you recall correctly, a certain Mizuho ninja had fled into this particular room, as well; what surprise for Zelos.

"Wow, Sheena!" the Chosen exclaimed, suddenly regaining his strength after being molested by his groupies, "I never expected to find _you_ here!" He jumped onto the bed that Sheena was lying on, playfully moving closer to her.

"No!" Sheena edged away from Zelos, "I came up here to... to get away from you!"

Zelos rolled his eyes, "Oh, puh-lease! You come into my room to get away from me? HA!"

"I didn't know that this was _your_ room!"

"Yeah, yeah. Like you haven't been here before."

"Quiet, Zelos! I haven't!"

Tethe'alla's Chosen crawled towards Sheena as she backed away even more, "Come on... now we're aloooone..." What was understood from his last statement made Sheena jump slightly... and fall off of the bed. Zelos snickered as he peered over the edge of the bed, "Good job." Looking up at the Chosen, Sheena could not help herself from feeling at least a _little_ attracted to him; due to Zelos' unfortunate gang-assault, his long hair was ragged and loose, and his regular vest had been removed. Also, his shirt had been torn, revealing his manly and sexy chest that generally went unnoticed because most people are too damn distracted by all of that pink he wears. "Sheena?"

Zelos' voice broke into Sheena's daydreaming, and the summoner shook her head to return to reality. "Huh?"

"You totally blanked out there," Zelos surveyed aloud. In spite of her efforts, Sheena was still rather out of it. "Helloooo? Sheena?" the Chosen waved his hand in front of her face. There came no reaction. "Hmm..." Zelos' typical smirk crossed his face as he slowly lowered himself over the side of the bed, eventually resting his entire body on top of Sheena's. "If this doesn't get an angry reaction out of you, I don't know _what_ will..." Silence. "I'm just going to assume that by you saying nothing, you love me." Silence again... and a slightly ashamed look on Sheena's face. "No... way..." Sheena suddenly threw her arms around the back of Zelos' neck and drew him closer--into a kiss. Of _course_ Zelos was shocked by this display of affection; after all, Sheena was always the one who slapped the Chosen when he made an inappropriate comment, and now she was _making out with him_!! Being the man that he is... Zelos did nothing to stop her.

A short distance from the door of Zelos' room, Presea, Genis and – the returned-from-market – Regal were sitting on the couch again; and _again_, Regal had made himself comfortable seated in between Genis and Presea. "So... have I ever told you two about the story of—"

"Yes!" Genis shouted, leaping up from his seat and glaring up at Regal (because even though Regal was still sitting, he was still taller than the midget), "I can assure you – with one-hundred percent confidence – that we have already heard your stinking story!!"

The former aristocrat had a hurt expression in his eyes, "You... deem that I have recounted this particular account at a previous moment?"

Genis paused, taking a moment to go through the definitions of Regal's big words in his mind. Presea cut in at this point, "I must concur with Regal, Genis; you cannot simply deduce that the time that he was going to relive was one that he has formerly imparted."

Now it was not only Genis being intimidated by the large words, but Regal as well. Regal had shifty eyes as he plotted how to confuse the intelligent Presea. "Aha!" Regal rose his hand in realization, "Je sais comment je vais te confuser!" ((A/N: "I know how I will confuse you!")) And 'confuser' Presea he did! You see, since Regal was a wealthy businessman, he just so happened to have knowledge of a few foreign languages, and _that _is why he spoke French. Since neither Genis nor Presea understood what Regal had just said, everyone went silent. And through the silence, came sounds from Zelos' bedroom...

"Ow! Zelos, what the hell?! Don't do that!"

"Sor-ry for wanting to spice things up!"

"**Don't**!! Oh, God, I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Regal's face was completely red, and he was hoping that neither of the children that he was with caught the gist of what had just been overheard. Presea, being as knowledgeable as she is, knew exactly what that was all about, and _she_ hoped that Genis didn't understand, though she hid her concerns easily. Unfortunately for both of them, Genis was completely aware of what was happening in Zelos' bedroom... and it disturbed him, "**Eww**!!" he squealed childishly.

Presea closed her eyes to avoid looking at Genis as she commented calmly, "They are only leading up to engaging in sexual intercourse; they may do as they will."

"Wh... why do you put it so bluntly?" the young half-elf asked, blushing intensely. Presea and Regal remained silent after that, thereby allowing everyone to eavesdrop on _more_ of what Sheena and Zelos were doing:

"Come now, Sheena! Don't be so bashful!"

"Well it's a _little_ hard for me to **not** be shy when you're staring at my body like that!"

"If you insist, then I'll stop gazing and start romancing..."

"Zelos! Give me a minute to think this through! I'm still not--"

Sheena's protest faded into a loud pleasured moan... which caused Genis to be even further traumatized. "Aah!!" the half-elf held his hands over his ears and closed his eyes, making a desperate attempt to block himself off from the reality, "_That_ is not happening; I am at home, I am with Raine, we are happy and eating... eating food; eating sugar cookies! Yes... yes, that's good. Good and happy."

"Is... Genis all right?" Presea questioned hesitantly.

"No!" Regal stood up proudly, "He must be saved!" And thus, it was **Regal to the rescue**!! The ex-convict swept Genis up into his arms and carried him downstairs. Without being at all perplexed by what was happening, Presea followed him. "Raine!" Regal called as he entered the living room , "Genis has been" he paused dramatically, "_traumatized_!"

The Professor emitted a staccato hiccup, "Really?"

"Yes."

Raine then spontaneously began to giggle uncontrollably, "That's funny!" she exclaimed between laughs and hiccups.

Now even the extremely strange Regal was freaked out; it wasn't every day that you witnessed Raine being drunk. In fact, Regal was so shocked that he dropped Genis, leaving the poor boy to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth. Presea – being the only one left unaffected – walked over to the table and picked up the bottle of Welgaiaian wine, reading its label. Her eyes widened when she read the percentage of alcohol in the drink, "...Raine, how are you still conscious?"

"I... don't know..." Her own response simply caused the healer to break into another fit of giggles.

"We bring you **gifts**!!" the front door swung open to reveal Lloyd with the wrapped gift from the mysterious stranger in his hand. "Well... really it's just one gift," the idealist corrected himself.

Colette peeked over Lloyd's shoulder from behind, "But it's a good one!" she assured with a smile.

"Yeah!" Lloyd agreed.

Suddenly, Zelos emerged from his bedroom wearing a silken robe, "A present? I want a present!" Everyone simply stared at him... except for Genis, whose traumatization ((A/N: I made up a word!)) was rekindled as he heard the Tethe'allan Chosen. Sheena timidly stepped out of the room with the bed sheets wrapped closely to her body. She shamefully hid behind Zelos, her face completely red from awkwardness. "Oh!" Zelos quickly added, "And in case you can't tell, I just took Sheena's virginity!"

"**Zelos**!!" Sheena swiftly belted the back of Zelos' head.

"Owww!!" the Meltokio noble whined, rubbing his precious cranium, "The truth really _does_ hurt..."

Sheena retreated slowly towards the bedroom again, "Just because it's the truth, doesn't mean that you have to announce it to the world!" she snapped, "Some people enjoy having their love lives kept _private_!"

Zelos tilted his head to the side in confusion. Regal and Presea then chorused, with equally complex vocabulary, "Zelos' statement did not differentiate the fact that we were perceptive of your..." they both paused, contemplating on how to word what had happened, "romantic engagement... We already knowledgeable of it."

Lloyd was very, _very_ confused by one: their vocabulary. And two: how they were able to speak at the same time like that. He shook off his puzzlement, "Can I open the present from the cloaked man now?" Everyone nodded, except for Sheena who was back in Zelos' bedroom, putting some clothes on. "All right, then," Lloyd began to carefully remove the wrapping paper from the gift. Raine quickly grew impatient of how slow he was going, so she slapped him upside the head, causing the poor boy to be scared into tearing the paper hastily. "Wow! It's a..." Lloyd pulled out a square-shaped case and examined it, "...hey, what is this thing?"

"You back-country hick!" Zelos called as he descended the stairs, "It's a CD," he stated, snatching the case from Lloyd and opening it to reveal a compact disc, "It plays music."

Colette's eyes shimmered in wonder, "**Wow**! What kind of music does it play?"

"Hmm... Not sure," Zelos replied while observing the disc from various angles, "The label says 'The Most Ultimate Party Song EVER'." He shrugged, "Guess we'll only find out what that means when I play it." The Chosen strolled over to his stereo system and inserted the mysterious CD. He pressed the 'play' button and it began to blare... The Macarena?? ((A/N: Don't own.)) "What kind of music is _this_?!" Zelos shouted.

"Exactly what the label says," came a deep voice from the front doorway. Everyone turned their heads towards the door to see... Kratos and the mysterious stranger! "It is 'the most ultimate party song EVER'."

"And there is a dance that goes with it, too," the man next to the seraphim stated, "And we shall teach you how it goes!" In one fluid motion, he removed his cloak to reveal his identity as... Yuan! "Ready, Kratos?"

Kratos nodded, "I am _always_ ready." And with that, they did the Macarena. All of the party guests ((A/N: Minus the groupies who had left upon realizing that their lover ran away... oh, and Sheena's with the others now, too)) gaped; they were absolutely speechless. Kratos and Yuan were always so serious, and yet, here they were dancing about, folding their arms in various positions, and shaking their asses.

The first one to find their voice and comment was Zelos... and well... "I want to dance, too!" the fun-loving Chosen rushed over to the spot next to Kratos and began doing the Macarena, as well.

"Ooh! That looks like fuuuun!" the ever-drunk Raine exclaimed, soon joining the others in their amusing dance. There was no point in denying it any longer... they **all** wanted to dance, and so that's exactly what they did: they celebrated Christmas by doing the Macarena...

#--))**_Merry Christmas, everyone!!_**((--#

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...Don't ask me how a Christmas story escalated into everyone doing the Macarena, because I'm not even sure of the answer to that myself. You know what else I'm not so sure of? Why Zelos is singing 'L.O.V.E. Machine'. _(points to Zelos)_

Zelos: _(singing)_ Lady, have you known me, the perfect love machine? Virgo, my Leo's rising, Venus made me kind. That trail of broken hearts, they all belong to me! Magic runs through my fingers; one touch, you'll see... L.O.V.E., all I need's my love machine, oh!

The Zelda Master: Okay, let's just ignore him for a bit... What did you think of the first chapter of Holidays of Symphonia? I must say... I don't know what the hell I was thinking, but _I'm_ amused! If people like it, then I'll certainly keep it up by adding a 'New Years' chapter fairly soon. Until then, review! And I'll update _The Quest for True Love_ and the alternate-sequel to _Someone to Trust_ as soon as I can! (Exams this week...) And, um... Zelos is still singing...

Zelos _(ever-singing)_ L.O.V.E., all I need's my love machine tonight... tonight... What can I do for you, am I your wildest dream? What do I move in you, am I what I seem? My eyes, they lie and you cry; love brings you paaain! And if you try to love me, you'll not feel the saaame! L.O—

Sheena: That's quite enough. _(drags Zelos away)_

Zelos: You aaall want this love machiiiine!!... _(voice fades away)_


	2. New Years

Meep! I totally procrastinated in writing the New Years chapter! Gotta get going, gotta get going... Oh! And as you'll realize after reading the first sentence, New Years is going to be celebrated in Mizuho. And here are the responses to reviews:

To Sir-Dik-Dik – T.T I know, I know... I have to update Warrior Island. But Soul Calibur II just isn't in my mind as of late. But I'll _try_!

To Cerse Liminara – Glad you liked it; and finals _so_ are evil!

To RPGs r the BEST – Your advice was duly noted, dude! I've kept the characters close to their original personalities most of the time, and the presence of romance is mainly Gesea, so it's cutesy junk. :-P

To Tsuruoka – Heh. It's nice to have my work appreciated. _(smile)_

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own any of the Tales of Symphonia characters, okay?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

)Chapter 2 – New Years!(

The village of Mizuho was bustling with villagers moving here and there, preparing for the New Years celebration. There was a thin layer of snow that succeeded in covering every inch of bare ground and each roof of the villagers' huts. The weather was quite crisp, but not so cold that it was necessary for people to be bundled up in layers of clothes. Nearby the village entrance, Sheena placed her hand on the shoulder of a Mizuho resident who was walking by, "Is everything going all right with the arrangements for New Years?" she asked. The man nodded. "Thanks. That's good. My friends are going to be here soon."

"We're already heeeere!"

"Aah!" Sheena fell forward onto the snow due to the sudden weight of Zelos jumping on her back. "Zelos! That was _really_ uncalled for!" she pushed herself up off of the ground, tossing Zelos off in the process. She moved into a sitting position and brushed the snow off of her clothes, "Well... welcome to Mizuho, everyo—Zelos, get off!" Sheena screamed at the Chosen whom had made himself comfortable in her lap. She promptly shoved him off and stood up. "Ahem... as I was saying, welcome to Mizuho, guys."

Lloyd blinked several times, and then finally asked, "Why are you welcoming us? We've been here before, Sheena! Don't tell me you've already forgotten!"

"N-no," Sheena insisted, "That isn't what I meant, Lloyd. I was just... ah, forget it." Lloyd smiled obliviously.

Colette suddenly began jumping up and down gleefully, "Ooh! I can't _wait_ to celebrate New Years! I've never celebrated—"

"You've celebrated New Years before, Colette," Lloyd corrected without letting her finish her statement.

Sylvarant's Chosen playfully shoved Lloyd and giggled, "No, Lloyd; I was going to say that I've never celebrated New Years in _Tethe'alla_! And in Mizuho of all places... this should be lots of fun!"

Sheena smiled, "You bet it'll be fun! They're just typical traditions, but Mizuho really knows how to make it fun! It's probably my favourite holiday, actually."

Zelos finally got to his feet and walked up next to Sheena, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's only natural that you like New Years so much. I mean, think about it! A New Year spent with your beloved Zelos Wilder!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at Zelos, and Raine commented, "I highly doubt that, Zelos... But I am certainly eager to see the Mizuho New Years customs!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together and getting that familiar glint of fascination in her eyes.

"You'd better be sure not to get drunk this time then, Raine," Genis said with laugh, only to be cut short by Raine slapping him upside the head. "Owww!"

The Professor folded her arms in front of her chest, "You brought that one on yourself, Genis."

"Anyway..." Sheena continued once again, "Things aren't really going to get going for about another hour, so feel free to wander around and _stay out of trouble_," while emphasizing her last statement, Sheena was staring directly at Zelos, "Is that clear? I don't want anyone to make a mess of things in Mizuho. Punishments are strict, you know? Technically none of you are even supposed to be here! So please, **be good**!"

"You're too uptight," Zelos whispered soothingly in Sheena's ear as he gently massaged her shoulders. Sheena, however, was not in the mood for Zelos' advances, and so she forcefully elbowed him in the gut. Without any more words, Sheena walked off towards the Chief's house. "My precious, precious body!" Zelos whined, dramatically falling onto the ground and clutching his abdomen. No one really cared about Zelos' pain, and they all walked off in separate directions—away from the complaining Chosen. "You're all so cruueeeel!!"

Lloyd and Genis were lounging on the soft snow by the unfrozen riverside, watching as villagers set up for the New Years spectacle... whatever that ended up being. "Hey, Lloyd," Genis spoke to get his friend's attention, breaking the silence.

"Hmm? Yeah, what is it, Genis?"

"I was thinking," he looked further down the river and stared at Presea, whom was simply standing by the water's edge and watching the villagers, as well, "maybe tonight I'll tell Presea that I like her."

Lloyd appeared rather perplexed, "Genis, you've told her before; Presea just doesn't seem to get what you mean."

"I know that!" Genis snapped, "That's why I thought maybe I'd _show_ her... you know, with a kiss or... something..." the young half-elf's face turned red as he looked downwards, away from Presea. "But I'm nervous..."

"You sound like a girl who's too scared to tell a guy that she has a crush on him!" Lloyd mocked.

Genis glared at his best friend, "Qu-quiet!" he stammered in a raised voice, "I've just never kissed anyone, okay?!" This simply triggered laughter from Lloyd. "Hey, don't laugh!" Genis shouted, "It's not like you're any better! I mean... you only had your first kiss a couple of months ago with Colette! And you're _seventeen_; I'm only _twelve_!"

Lloyd abruptly stopped laughing and scratched his chin in thought, "Hmm... now that I think about it, Presea's twenty-eight, isn't she? Wouldn't you two being an item be kind of... wrong...?"

"Lloyd, you're missing the point entirely!"

Genis' best friend tilted his head to the side, "Well, what do you want _me_ to do to boost your confidence? Help you practice or something?"

"Ah!! **No**!"

"I was just kidding," Lloyd assured, smiling innocently, "But seriously, you just have to go for it, Genis! It's the only way that Presea will really understand that you _like_ her...romantically, or whatever."

Genis gazed towards Presea again, "I know. And I'm going to do it."

While all of this was going on, Zelos was still exaggerating his pain nearby the entrance to Mizuho. "Does no one care about me?!" he shouted, looking around to see if he could catch sight of any of his friends... but no one was there. "Hmph. I guess not." Zelos sat up and sighed, "I am so not appreciated by these people."

"And there's a reason for it, too."

Zelos turned around to find Raine standing over him, "Ah, Raine! Have you come to rescue me?"

"Definitely not," the Professor replied coolly, "I just so happened to be walking by when I heard you come to the realization that we don't care... but then again, the fact that you asked if I had come to rescue you made me come to my senses and realize that by no means have you learnt anything."

"Ouch... cold..." Zelos' head sank in disappointment, "What does it take to get someone to love me?"

Raine rolled her eyes as she began to walk away, "Even a blind person can see things better than you..." she murmured without looking back at the so-called "idiot Chosen".

"What? What does that mean?" Zelos bounded to his feet – suddenly recovered from his 'terrible injury' – and chased after Raine, "Are you trying to tell me something or... something? Raiiine!!" he whined as the Professor continued moving forward. Struggling to keep up with her pace, Zelos began to guess what she had meant, "Oh! _I_ get it! _You_ love me, right? Aw, Raine! That's so sweet of you!" Raine's patience was running thin, so she did what she always does to Zelos when he was getting on her nerves: inflicted pain upon him. At that moment she chose to push him forcefully in the shoulder with a balled up fist, causing the hopeless Chosen to fall down once again. "Aaah! _Mean_!"

"Get a clue," she murmured, quickly making her way towards the area where Colette and Regal were having a conversation. She took a seat on the ground next to Regal and shook her head to herself.

"Is there a problem?" the president of Lezareno questioned.

"Not for me," Raine replied, "But Zelos is completely oblivious... as always."

Regal smiled slightly, "Ah, yes. Perhaps for the New Year he should resolve to spend his money on something useful, such as a brain that has knowledge of things such as true romance."

Both adults laughed at Regal's comment, and Colette simply blinked, "How could he buy something like that?"

"Ah... never mind, Colette," said Raine.

There was silence for a minute, and then Colette broke out enthusiastically, "Speaking of New Years resolutions, what are all of yours? Mine is to save the world!"

"You've... already done that, Colette," stated Regal, looking at the girl inquisitively.

"Yeah, I know that!" Sylvarant's Chosen exclaimed, "But who knows when it will be necessary again, right? I just have to be ready for whatever ends up happening! Oh," Colette suddenly realized that she had been rambling, "I'm sorry for going on like that! Please, tell me what both of your resolutions are."

Raine pondered on the thought for a moment, "Well, I suppose that above all else, I'd just really like to be able to cook _one_ good meal."

"Professor... hasn't that been your resolution for the past few years?"

"Yes..." Raine sighed shamefully, "It has. But I just haven't been able to succeed; perhaps this will be the year. I need to learn to buckle down and follow the recipe without adding any of my own personal twists."

"Like the sugar spaghetti sauce with gumballs?" Colette asked.

And once again, Raine sighed, "Yes..."

Regal murmured under his breath, "My New Years resolution is to stop all cooking travesties like that..."

"What?!"

"Ah, umm, erm..." Regal hesitated, searching for a sufficient lie, "That is to say that... as heir to the Wonder Chef, I must put forward all of my strength to fight the Dark Chef Alliance! That and... run my company, of course."

Raine eyed Regal uncertainly, not believing his cover-up, but stated nonetheless, "Running your company wouldn't be a resolution since it's something that you would be doing anyway."

"Fair enough," the master chef agreed.

"Colette, Raine, Regal!" a voice called, causing all three of their heads to turn. Sheena approached them, wearing the normal clothes of Mizuho women and stumbling over her own feet out of awkwardness. "Everything is ready for the—**Whoa**!!" Sheena finally lost her balance and fell forward into the snow.

Colette beamed, "Ooh, Sheena! You're just as clumsy as me!"

Sheena staggered to her feet. "People usually aren't proud to compare themselves to something bad..."

"I imagine that you're not one to wear robes often, Sheena?" Raine commented in an inquisitive tone.

The summoner shook her head, "Not at all. But I'll get used to it; I always have troubles walking when I first put it on. Anyway, we should all head down to the river for the celebration. There's only ten minutes until the New Year, after all. All of our other friends have been informed," Sheena paused, "Actually, Zelos wouldn't stop obsessing over me and that's what took so long."

They all headed for the river where the people of Mizuho had already begun celebrating. Several villagers were handing out glasses of Flanoir and Mizuho potions to bring in the New Year. When Presea received a glass, she seemed rather sceptical. Raine walked up behind her, "Don't worry, you can go ahead and have some. Technically you _are_ over eighteen... and even so, you won't be finishing it."

Presea looked at Raine, "Why not?"

"You'll see..."

Igaguri was being his regular high-spirited self and enjoying the holiday with the village residents. Tiga was keeping a close eye on the Chief, making sure that he did not do anything foolish that would give him a bad image. Genis was watching Presea closely, prepping for the 'big moment' when he would kiss her. Lloyd thought that he was pathetic for making such a big deal out of it. Colette was staring at the Mizuho people who were setting something up on the opposite side of the river. "What are those people doing?" she asked Sheena.

"Oh, they're preparing to set off the fireworks when the New Year rolls in," Sheena answered.

"Fireworks?" Colette grinned, "Wow! I've only heard about fireworks and never actually seen them!"

Sheena returned her friend's smile, "Well then, it should be a great experience!" she sat down on the snow just next to the river, "Have a seat. It's a front-row view," Sheena invited. Colette nodded and took a seat next to Sheena. Before any more words were said, Zelos joined the two friends and sat behind Sheena, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against him. "Zelos," Sheena sighed, slightly agitated, but gave no real objections.

"Aha!" Zelos exclaimed suddenly. Sheena craned her neck backwards to look at Zelos questioningly. "_That's_ what Raine meant! _You're_ the one who loves me!" Sheena hugged Zelos' arms closer to her body without saying so much as a word; of course she loved him.

Lloyd sat down next to Colette and said to his three friends, "Hey, guys. When the countdown reaches zero, watch Genis. He's finally going to kiss Presea! Well, if he doesn't chicken out."

Colette stared at Lloyd, "Wouldn't us watching him just make Genis more anxious?" Lloyd shrugged. "Oh well! It should be cute to watch!" she squealed. To that, all of them had to agree.

The Chief jumped up onto a table that had been set up and proclaimed, "The New Year is about to come in! In ten, nine, eight—Tiiigaaa!" The vice-chief swiftly pulled Igaguri off of the table because – as far as Tiga was concerned – he was making a fool of himself. Even though the Chief had stopped his countdown, the villagers all continued it:

"Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! **Happy New Year**!!!"

Glasses clanged together and people drank down their alcoholic beverages. ((A/N: Let's just say that the potions are alcoholic.)) Presea looked at her glass for a moment, and then took a small sip of the drink. After catching its dreadful taste, she had to force what she had taken down. She held the glass away and frowned at it, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "How can they all drink this?" she whispered to herself before pouring out what was left of the liquid and placing the empty glass on a table.

The fireworks began to set off, lighting up the sky in all kinds of colours. Colette was mesmerized by how the fireworks managed to explode in perfect circles and rings, combining with one-another in beautiful forms. Lloyd gently nudged Colette's arm, causing the girl to turn around and notice that Genis was finally approaching Presea. Zelos and Sheena were watching, as well... in fact, so were Raine and Regal. And Igaguri and Tiga. And Orochi. It goes without saying that Genis was feeling rather intimidated at that moment. Genis glanced at everyone uncomfortably. Presea finally took notice of Genis, "Oh, Genis. What is it?"

"Um... Presea, I..." the half-elf's face flushed as he searched for the words to lead to up to his coming actions. He quickly gave up on speaking and kissed her... on the cheek.

No one said a word as time slowly. ticked. by... "That was _it_!?" Lloyd shouted, "All of that hesitation for a kiss _on the cheek_!?" Meanwhile, Zelos had broken into a fit of laughter, Colette was cooing about how cute it was, Sheena was suppressing a smile, Regal wasn't aware of what he was supposed to expect, Raine shook her head at her brother, Igaguri, Tiga and Orochi didn't really care.

Then, there was Presea. She was not really sure what she was supposed to do, and so she simply said, "Thank you, and... Happy New Year...?" Genis slunk away, feeling very embarrassed that Presea did not understand. Everyone else, on the other hand, was not surprised.

Maybe next year, Genis. Maybe next year...

_**#--))Happy New Year!!((--#**_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that didn't end up being as funny as the Christmas chapter in my mind... but it was still all right. Heh, heh... poor Genis. I hope you all enjoyed it, and please review with your opinion!

Until Valentine's Day... sayonara!


	3. Valentine's Day

Phew. Valentine's Day. Obviously, there is going to be some cheap fluffiness in this chapter... but hey, it's Valentine's Day! Responses to reviews:

To Tsuruoka – Glad you enjoyed the previous chapters; I hope that this one is amusing, too!

To RPGs r the BEST! – Well, we shall see what Genis and Presea end up doing in this chapter. Heh, heh. Thanks for reviewing!

To Cerse Liminara – ...You just want Genis to use Indignation on Zelos so _you_ can be amused. Am I right? I am sooo right. :P

To ShadowSessMarlfox – Don't be sad – Kratos is in this chapter! Not too much... but he's there!

To kuramagirl44 – Here's the Valentine's Day one that you wanted; hope it's to your liking!

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to think of something creative, so I just don't own Tales of Symphonia, mm-kay?

-

)Chapter 3 – Valentine's Day!(

"It's so beautiful here." Sheena looked from left to right, taking in the mystique that Iselia Forest held. The trees formed an arch that covered the dirt path that the small group of friends trekked along. Thin beams of sunlight peeked through the canopy of leaves, faintly lighting the trail. The air was so fresh and untouched that one could not help but appreciate nature in that environment.

"Yeah, it's pretty and all..." Zelos agreed, clearly having something to add to his comment. Sheena, Regal and Presea all turned their heads to face the Chosen as he said, "...but I still don't get why we _all_ have to hang out together at _every_ holiday. I mean... it's _Valentine's_ Day for Martel's sake!" Regal and Sheena sighed; Zelos had missed the serenity of Sheena's statement entirely. "It's supposed to be a _romantic_ time," Zelos continued, "I mean, I love my buds, sure... just not in _that_ way! I wanna be with my hunny, and only my hunny!"

Presea tilted her head slightly, still trudging along the pathway, "Only... _one_ hunny? Are you not mistaken, and mean to say that you would prefer to be in the presence of many hunn_ies_?"

Zelos grinned and practically flounced as he picked up his pace, "Nope! Just one!" he turned around and walked backwards so that he could see Sheena, and then winked in her direction. The summoner sighed and rolled her eyes.

For a bit of time, there was silence. Presea seemed to be consumed with thought, Zelos was still walking backwards, Sheena was admiring the scenery out of the corner of her eye, and Regal was counting the shadows that he saw dashing through the brush. "Tree, three feet ahead," Sheena said spontaneously.

"Huh?—OW!" Zelos stumbled forward onto his knees after the back of his head collided with a tree branch. He exaggeratedly whined about all of the pain that he was in. Sheena casually made her way over to the fallen Chosen and held out her hand to help him up. Without any hesitation, Zelos accepted her aid and was pulled to his feet. "Thank you, my voluptuous hunny!" he exclaimed cheerfully, suddenly recovered from his 'injury'. Sheena ignored his thanks and kept on walking. "Aw... come now! Don't be like that!" Zelos shouted after her before running to catch up.

Regal and Presea were left behind to find their way to Dirk's house on their own. The president of Lezareno looked toward Presea, noting the sense of contemplation in her eyes. "Is something on your mind, Presea?" Regal asked concernedly.

"Valentine's Day... it is a time of love, correct?" Presea inquired, unfazed by Regal's intrusion. The older man simply nodded, leaving it up to Presea to elaborate on her own question. "Then, it would be an ideal time to express your emotions towards another..." she mused aloud, yet in a whisper.

Regal cocked an eyebrow, "What was that?"

Presea dithered, trying to think of something to cover up her words. It was not necessary, however, because a shriek from up ahead distracted them both. They rushed forward to the source of the cry... only to find that it was just Sheena and Zelos playing around. "Zelos, put me down!" Sheena demanded, though it was obvious that she did not want him to obey, as her arms were wrapped securely around the Chosen's neck.

Zelos had an unwavering smirk on his face. "If that's what you _really_ want..." he said, knowing that that was not what she desired. Sheena's hold on Zelos tightened as he moved to set her down on the ground. "Guess that means you don't really want to be let go." Sheena blushed slightly, but still did not let go. Against her wishes, Zelos placed Sheena down. "If you can't resist being close to me, the climb onto my back and I'll carry you like that." It did not take a moment's thought for Sheena to get onto the Chosen's back. "Ooh yeah," Zelos grinned, "Ride me, baby!"

"Don't be gross," Sheena scolded, lightly hitting him over the head.

Regal and Presea both stared blankly at the couple. "Umm..." the foot-fighter searched for something to say, "...how much farther is it to Dirk's home?"

"Just ahead!" a new voice broke into the conversation from behind them. Sheena, Zelos, Presea and Regal all looked back to find out who it was... and Regal was tackled to the ground. It was Lloyd. "Glad I caught up to you guys before you got the house!"

Lloyd stood up, getting off of Regal and allowing the man to get up. "Lloyd!" Colette and Genis ran up the path the join the group. They skidded to a stop in front of the others; Genis was panting heavily as Colette beamed, seemingly fine. "Hello, everyone!" she greeted.

Between forced breaths Genis asked, "How can you not be tired?"

Colette thought for a moment, "Hmm... Now that you mention it, I guess I am... kind of... sleepy..." Sylvarant's Chosen collapsed onto her back, closed her eyes and smiled. Everyone simply stared at her confusedly. Finally, Raine joined up with the group of friends, having gone at her own pace. The Professor looked down at her student lying on the ground. As though she could sense the eyes locked on her, Colette sat up and glanced towards Raine. "Professor! You're finally here!"

"Yes, Colette. I'm here," Raine repeated the obvious, "Now can we please hurry up and get to the house? This forest is... unsettling."

"Really?" Sheena said inquisitively, still on Zelos' back, "I was just saying how tranquil it was before..."

Zelos held Sheena's legs close to him, making sure that she would not fall. "Ignore her, hunny," he assured, "She just doesn't have a poetic heart... let alone any heart at all..." Tethe'alla's Chosen added the final statement under his breath, but Raine was still able to hear it. And she did not like it. For that reason, she kicked him... and he fell... with Sheena still on him. Sheena was fine, though; Zelos provided nice cushioning for her fall. The swordsman tried to pick himself up off of the ground, but seemed to be struggling. "Gah! I'm being crushed by my sweet hunny's voluptuous body..." Zelos needed to learn to keep his mouth shut, because no one in the close group of friends enjoyed his stupid comments.

Sheena pushed down on the Chosen's back, shoving his face into the dirt. She then got off of him and began walking down the path to Dirk's house. "Come on, let's go!" the summoner called back to the others. They shrugged to each other, and then followed Sheena... leaving Zelos alone on the ground. He whined to himself as he finally got to his feet, and then ran to catch up with everyone else.

The group of friends all entered the front door of Dirk's house, and what they saw traumatized them. Lloyd's dwarven father pulled a tray out of the oven and then faced the world's heroes. He was wearing a frilly pink apron that read 'Dwarven Vow #122: Bake your troubles away!' and was holding a tray of freshly baked heart-shaped cookies in his hands. "Ah, you're finally all here!" Dirk exclaimed, "Come on in and have a cookie! ...Or a cupcake!" The dwarf placed the cookies down on the table and motioned towards a plate of cupcakes that were lathered in pink icing with little heart sprinkles on them. "They're just out of the oven!"

"Dad..." Lloyd lowered his head shamefully, "You're making a fool of yourself by treating Valentine's Day like it's a big deal."

Dirk's eyes gleamed with the fire of passion, "What. Did. You. Say? Valentine's Day **is** a big deal!" The dwarven man gripped his kinda-son by the collar of his shirt, "If you'd ever experienced love, you'd know that! Love is no childish game where you give each other Valentine's cards and giggle! There's more to it!" He let go of Lloyd and moved to the other side of the room, gazing out of the window dreamingly, "No... there s so much more to love."

Lloyd stepped towards his father, "You were in love, Dad?" he asked.

"Yes," Dirk sighed, "Her name was... Anna."

"Anna! You mean... **Mom**!"

A choked sob came from outside, "Anna..." Curiosity got the better of the large group, and they all ventured outside to find out where the voice had come from. Natural instinct led them to Anna's grave... and let them well, it did! For when they reached the tombstone, they found Kratos kneeling by it, holding back tears. "This holiday... it devastates me..." the swordsman whispered.

"Kratos?"

"Eek!" Kratos jumped up to his feet and turned around to see the gang of friends. The Seraphim cleared his throat, putting on a calm expression, "Ahem... I... was not expecting anyone to come here."

Zelos rolled his eyes, "Obviously."

"A'right, a'right," Dirk shoved his way through the kids and adults so that he stood out to get attention, "Why don't you all head on back to the house? I'm sure it'd be more interesting than hanging around here and grieving over lost loves..."

Lloyd seemed disturbed. Both of his fathers had been in love with his mother... and that very statement in itself was extremely messed up. Everyone began in the direction of the entrance of Dirk's house again, but Lloyd slowed his pace so that he fell behind the others. It was Colette, Raine, Sheena and Zelos that noticed Lloyd' hesitation. "What's up, bud?" Zelos questioned, approaching his friend.

"I can't hang around _here_!" Lloyd blurted out, "I don't even want to think about the humiliating things that Dad will do..."

"Which dad?" Colette inquired.

With a desolate sigh, Lloyd replied, "Both of them."

"Well then what do you expect to do?" Raine piped up, "You can't rightfully just run away from your home, Lloyd." The swordsman said nothing... and that nothing said everything. "Oh, goddess..." Raine lowered her head slightly, "You _are_ going to run away, aren't you?"

Lloyd shook his head on reflex, "**No**!" he paused, "Well... temporarily, yeah. Just till tonight! You know... stow away into the forest for a little peace and quiet and no Valentine's Day cookies?"

"Ooh, we'll come with!" Zelos volunteered both he and Sheena. The summoner _would_ have objected, but she actually thought it nice to explore the forest for the day.

"Me, too!" Colette chimed in.

Lloyd had a look of triumph on his face, while Raine wore an expression of clear disapproval. Although in the end, it did not make a difference what Raine thought about the situation. "...I'm coming, too. There's no way that I'll be able to have an enjoyable time if I'm worrying about what kind of stunts you four will pull being out on your own."

With that, the five companions went off into the forest.

Presea was about to enter Dirk's house when she turned around, "Did Colette, Lloyd, Raine, Sheena and Zelos just go into the forest without informing us?" she asked, perplexed by the fact that they had not bothered to inform everyone that they would be going for a walk.

Genis looked at the girl and smiled calmly, "Don't worry, Presea! I'm sure they'll be fine and come back soon. After all, as long as my sister's with them, then won't be in any danger."

_**/Several hours later.../**_

Raine looked towards the sky, peering through a space in the shelter of trees. She took note of the fact that the sky was glowing a shade of orange; the sun was setting. "We should return to Dirk's house soon," the professor suggested, "It will be turning dark in no time."

Lloyd stretched his arms over his head, cracking his back in the process, "Ow!" he shouted as his vertebrae made a snapping sound. A few confused stares were sent in his direction – after all, this was a big tough swordsman – and so he quickly recovered, "Y-Yeah, Professor Sage. I agree. So... which way did we come from?" Everyone stopped in their tracks. They glared at Lloyd (except for Colette, who was as cheerful as ever), and Lloyd glimpsed from face to face. He did not quite understand why they all looked like they wanted to hurt him (once again, except for Colette). "Umm... what is it?"

"You mean you **don't know**!" Raine exclaimed, her eyes widened in horror. She slowly approached Lloyd, her arms outstretched as though she was about to strangle him. The swordsman gulped, backing away from the fuming professor. "You. Don't. Know!" Finally, the slow motion pursuit sped up, and Raine pounced on Lloyd like a wild predator about to devour its prey. Lloyd shrieked and Raine moved in to obliterate him.

"Professor Sage! Stop!" Colette ran forward and attempted to pry the rabid teacher off of Lloyd, "Please don't hurt Lloyd; we'll find our way back!" Reluctantly, Raine moved off of her student. It was so difficult to go against Colette's requests – they were always so peaceful. "I have faith that we'll get back. I'm sure of it!" The others all nodded in agreement. When put into a situation such as this, one had to have faith. Colette glanced in different directions, trying to recollect which way they had come from. "Ehm... Where should we go?" she asked.

Everyone else also looked through the forest passageways. Then, in unison – while each gazing in completely opposite directions – they all announced, "That way." After the words were spoken, they all turned to face each other. Upon realizing that _none_ of them agreed on where to go, they sighed. This was utterly hopeless. Unless...

Colette, being the only one who had not had a say in the vote, got to state her suggestion. And her choice was the obvious one: "Let's go in Lloyd's direction!" Zelos, Sheena and Raine sighed again. Lloyd beamed and gave the blonde angel an affectionate hug. Colette giggled happily, returning his embrace. After Lloyd let go, Sylvarant's chosen smiled, "So let's get going!"

Displeased – but bound by the majority nonetheless – Raine, Zelos and Sheena followed as the two teenagers went off, deeper into the forest.

"I'm worried," Genis stated, looking out of the window for any sign of his sister and the others. Had Presea never brought up the fact that they had wandered into the forest, he would have probably not been so nervous. But now... "What if something happened?" Genis began a rant in super speed, "What if a monster came out and attacked them, and just when things were going their way—BAM! The monster knocked out Raine, and there's no one to heal them! Except for Zelos... but he doesn't count, so the bottom line would be that they're **doomed**!"

For a moment, there was no sound. After taking in everything that Genis had just slurred together, Presea responded plainly: "Genis, you are over-exaggerating." Genis sighed, glancing down at the ground sadly. When Presea noticed the look of grief on the half-elf's face, she rethought her statement. "I am sorry, Genis," she apologized quickly, "I did not mean to upset you. I only meant to say that they will make it back safely."

The young magic user nodded, "Yeah... You're right. Thanks, Presea." Genis gave a small smile to the taciturn girl, and she returned it. He could have swooned right there when she smiled... but at that moment, there was too much stupidity going on in Dirk's dining area for Genis to react at all.

"I'm tellin' ya, they're _not_ in the town, they're in the forest!" Dirk objected to something that Kratos had said, rising from his seat.

The mercenary simply stared up at the enraged dwarf, "And _I_ am telling _you_ that the town is where we need to go to find them."

"No! The forest!" Dirk challenged again.

"The _town_," Kratos replied calmly, slowly rising from his seat, as well.

"Quiet!" Regal suddenly shouted, silencing Lloyd's fathers, "You are both being ignorant!" Kratos and Dirk sat down at the table again, waiting for Regal to elaborate. The president of Lezareno pointed to a certain area of a board-like map that was spread across the table, "The Ring of Fire Magic would obviously be located within the Flame Geysers, you fools!" Genis and Presea said nothing; those three were supposed to be the adults, and there they were playing a role-playing board game while the majority of their friends were missing.

Kratos nodded in agreement with Regal, but Dirk once again protested, "No way! That is far too obvious!"

"Such is the reality of these games, Dirk," Kratos insisted.

"Will you three just cut it out?" Genis snapped, "You shouldn't be wasting your time with that inane game now! We should be out making sure that everyone else is okay!" There was a brief moment of silent thought, and then murmurs of "yes, he's right" and "we really should check" could be heard. "Good," Genis smirked, "Then let's get going!"

It did not take a long time for the group consisting of Lloyd, Colette, Zelos, Sheena and Raine to realize that they were _not_ going in the direction that they wanted to go in. The forest had fallen into darkness, and the sounds of night's beasts echoed through the land. Raine led the way, her staff emitting a faint light to ensure that _at least_ they manage to stay on the path (which would hopefully end in the field). Colette held firmly onto Lloyd's arm for assurance that he would protect her... and Zelos held onto Sheena in the same manner. "Will you be a man for once?" Sheena scolded, "Honestly! This forest at night is no different than Gaoracchia Forest in the middle of the day!"

"So?" Zelos' grip tightened, "That place is creepy, too..." Sheena rolled her eyes and shoved the Chosen away, causing him to fall down onto the ground. "Eek!" Without complaint, Zelos scrambled to his feet and returned to Sheena's side, acting calmer, "I'll be good." A discreet smile on the summoner's face, she took Zelos' hand in hers and squeezed it comfortingly. The redhead smiled at her actions.

Raine turned around to face the others, "I see something up ahead," she proclaimed. The professor looked ahead again, studying what she saw, "It appears to be a cavern... but it is a habitated one."

"Habit... ated?" Lloyd repeated, "Shouldn't it be habit eaten?"

His teacher shook her head to herself, "As impressed as I am with your grammar, that is not at all what I meant. I mean that it's a home... or it _was_ one at a time." They made their way to the cave and found that it was, indeed, a house. An underground house. The entrance was covered in a wooden door that had different pictures carved into it: two crossing axed, hearts, vines... "I wonder what kind of person could have lived here."

Lloyd stared at the door anxiously; he had an idea of whose house this had been. He refused to accept it, though. Raine pushed open the door, and they all entered the dark room cautiously. The professor directed the light of her staff to each corner of the room, noting every item hanging from the wall. Suddenly, something caught her eye and she stopped scanning. Everyone was unsure how to react... it was a sign... and this sign told them at they were in... "The Dirkinator's Love Shack!" Finally, the reactions came. Zelos and Sheena broke into a fit of laughter. Raine was laughing too, but much more restrained. Colette stared blankly at the sign. Lloyd... was rather horrified. "Dad! For the love of—"

))(())Change of time scene!(())((

"Wow. Dirk must have been quite the dwarven love machine," Zelos stated, looking at all of the pictures of ladies that Dirk had lined up on his dresser. It was now lighter in the underground home because they had found half-melted candles that Zelos lit with his fire magic.

Lloyd sighed. "I'm so ashamed..."

"If Zelos were a dwarf, this would be his house..." Sheena commented in disgust, "...I'm glad that Dirk left this lifestyle behind him."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tethe'alla's Chosen appeared hurt... but that did not last too long. "Oh! You like the fact that he changed because it makes me all-the-more original, right? That's so sweet of you, hunny!" He threw his arms around Sheena, making them both fall back onto the bed of Dirk's past, which resembled a typical honeymoon suite bed.

Raine stared at them sternly, "Stop fooling around. We can't spend the entire night here; we have to get back."

Zelos groaned, disappointed; but he got off of the summoner, anyway. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he looked from Raine to Lloyd to Colette, "And how exactly do you propose that we get back, oh wise Professor?" he inquired, blatantly directing the question at Raine, challenging her views.

Beads of sweat trailed along the teacher's face. "Ah, uhm... well..."

Sheena sat up on the bed, next to Zelos. "Don't tell me that you don't know, Raine," the ninja teased.

"Lloyd..." Colette suddenly murmured distantly. The swordsman turned to face her, to find that the angel was leaning against a wall for support. "I... I feel dizzy..." She held a hand up to her forehead, feeling it throbbing.

At this point, Lloyd appeared very concerned. "Professor!" he shouted, "Something's wrong with Colette! What is it?"

Raine's thoughts were still off somewhere else, however. She was trying to find out how they would manage to return to Dirk's. With this loss of thought, Raine replied absent-mindedly, "I don't know... Angel Toxicosis or something..."

"What!" Lloyd responded in disbelief.

"Then again, probably not," the professor quickly corrected herself, thinking better of giving Lloyd an uneducated response. She wandered over to Sylvarant's Chosen and took in her condition, appearance, and all of that stuff. Lloyd was breathing down Raine's neck the entire time, of course. "Has it ever been questioned whether or not Colette is anaemic?" Raine questioned.

Lloyd blinked. "Anaemic? What's that?"

"It's when a person is low on red blood cells and lacks iron," the teacher explained, "Its symptoms are usually dizziness, pale skin, and overall loss of energy." Everyone stared at Colette, judging her state: she was dizzy... pale... and not too energetic. "I wouldn't worry, though," Raine assured, "As long as it doesn't get too out of hand, she'll be fine." Then, a realization donned upon the archaeological mania as she looked at the other people in the room, "Actually... you're _all_ pretty pale. Have you been eating your meat to get iron?"

Sheena, Zelos and Colette's eyes shied away. Lloyd grinned, "I love meat! In fact..." he looked towards his three friends whom were trying to be inconspicuous, "I've been eating _their_ shares, too!"

"Lloyd!" they all shouted in unison.

"Aha!" Raine exclaimed triumphantly, "Shame on you all. You should know better."

"You're one to talk!" Zelos accused, "Look at how pale _you_ are. You're skin's as white as your hair!"

The professor quickly searched for an excuse, "I, uhm... I'm... an albino! Yes, that's it! I can't help it."

"But you're eyes aren't red-"

"**Magic**!" Raine broke in, throwing her arms into the air to add drama.

Spontaneously, the door broke down and a cloud of dust particles filled the room. At first, fear pulsed through the veins of the five friends. Frozen in their spots, they could simply stare at the doorway as... Regal emerged through the wall of dust! "I am here to rescue you!" he cried, his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out proudly. Silence. Stares. Confusion.

"That is quite enough of that," Dirk stated, shoving Regal out of the way. "What are you all doin' in my old home?"

Lloyd, Colette, Sheena, Zelos and Raine were all wearing somewhat ashamed looks. None of them wanted to admit that they had gotten lost. Finally, after being intimidated by Kratos' prying stare, Lloyd caved, "We went into the forest to escape you guys, but the next thing we knew it was getting dark and we didn't know which way we had come from, and then we ended up here! Don't hurt me!" With the final request, Lloyd shielded his head from the whack that he was expecting.

"Oh, is that all?" Dirk questioned, "Well then... I guess we're all stuck here for the night." And that was that. No complaints about the fact that Lloyd had wanted to escape his fathers; no complaints about making them break away from their board game... nothing. The punishment was simply for all of them to sleep in that house. That one, _tiny_, crowded, made-for-one-person house. With one bed.

"We call bed!" Zelos hurriedly announced, pushing Sheena back onto the bed and joining her.

Dirk, Lloyd and Genis all yelled in unison, "Damn!"

Aside from Sheena and Zelos on the bed, everyone else was having enough trouble fitting in the home while standing... let alone lying down on the floor. "The chance of us all receiving the necessary hours of sleep in this teeming room: 3.1415923 and so on percent."

"Pi!" Raine exclaimed excitedly.

"Really? Where?" Lloyd looked around hopefully, thinking that she meant the food 'pie', and not the lovely number used in mathematics. Raine sighed and shook her head slowly. It was official: Lloyd learned nothing in math class... or any other class.

Kratos then said, "I will sleep outside. Dirk, Raine and Regal shall join me. The others should manage to fit in here."

"What? And why us?" Dirk and Regal challenged simultaneously. The Seraphim merely motioned towards those who were to remain in Dirk's old home: Zelos and Sheena, Lloyd and Colette, Genis and Presea. "Ohh..." they chorused, observing that it was the couples that remained. "The day of love," Regal commented, "Come on. Let us go outside." With that, Kratos, Dirk, Regal and Raine exited the house.

"So... we have to sleep on the floor?" Lloyd asked. The only response was a nod from Colette. "It doesn't look very comfortable... but I guess we shouldn't complain." He sat down in one of the corners of the room and opened his arms out to Colette. The angel smiled and lay down in Lloyd's arms, resting her head on his chest. "Happy Valentine's Day, Colette," the idealist whispered, earning a content giggle from Colette as she cuddled closer to him.

Zelos and Sheena were both snug under the warmth of the bed's blanket. "This was a pretty crappy Valentine's Day," Zelos muttered, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

"Don't say that," Sheena warned, "It could have been a lot worse. At least we were together, right?"

Tethe'alla's Chosen grinned, holding Sheena close to him. "Aww... that's so sweet, my loveable lady!"

"Hmph. That's a new one," the summoner observed, "Not bad, either... Better than being called your violent banshee."

"Or voluptuous hunny?"

Sheena smirked at Zelos, "Definitely better than _that_ one." They both chuckled quietly to themselves.

Genis and Presea were not as comfortable as the others were. Neither of them had the nerve to approach the other. "Um... P... Presea...?" Genis finally spoke timidly.

"...Yes, Genis?" Even Presea seemed rather shy in her way of speaking.

"Would you, uhm..." the half-elf searched for a way to voice his question without sounding like... Zelos, "...would you sleep near me?" A light tint of red was present on Presea's face as she nodded slowly. She moved over to where Genis was and lay down. He took his sleeping spot next to her. By no means were they nearly as close to each other as Colette and Lloyd, or Sheena and Zelos... but as far as Genis was concerned, this was all that he could ask for. Mainly because he was only twelve years old.

Outside, the idiocy of the role-playing board game had returned! Apparently Dirk had insisted that they bring it along. Raine watched the three men from a distance with a look of disapproval on her face; how juvenile they were being. Very little time had passed, and Kratos was already growing bored of Dirk and Regal's constant bickering. He rose from his spot on the ground, politely announced his leave, and then turned to re-enter the depths of the forest. "Wait!" Raine called after him. The Seraphim stopped in his tracks and faced the teacher. "Ah... Kratos, I wish that you wouldn't leave..."

Kratos gave a reserved smile, "If you want, I'll stay for the remainder of the night, but I _will_ have to leave at the moment that the run rises."

"That's fine," Raine said, calmly taking a seat on the ground, "I simply don't want you to navigate that deathtrap on your own at night... I can assure you that it is a _very_ difficult task." Kratos nodded in agreement and sat down next to her.

They both sat there rather awkwardly for a moment, but the silence soon passed as... "Share the love!" Regal unexpectedly popped up next to Raine and Kratos, and dumped a heart-shaped box of chocolates on the mercenary's head. At this point, it was made clear that Kratos and Raine were the only serious adults in that group. So while they stared on in awe, Regal burst into the house, once again shouting, "Share the lo—" But he was cut short as he took notice to the young ones all paired up. Shakily, he raised his finger and pointed to Genis and Presea, "Th-they're... children that are sleeping within a foot of each other!"

"So?" Zelos asked groggily, staring up at the blue-haired man, "They're not doing anything."

"It's a law!" Regal cried, "Two people under the age of fifteen of opposite genders must not sleep within a foot of each other!"

Zelos continued to oppose what he was saying, "And where exactly _is_ this law... huh, Regal?" Lezareno's president looked from one person to the next, hoping for some form of support; however they were all against him. As soon as he realized that there were no allies in this room, he threw a box of chocolates at Zelos and then ran out of the room, laughing maniacally. "...Ooh, chocolates!" the redheaded Chosen opened the box and proceeded to eat its sweet, sweet contents.

"Chocolates?" Sheena moved closer to him, "I could go for some chocolates..."

Zelos grinned, "Well of course you may have some, my-"

"I want some, too!" Lloyd interrupted, jumping onto the bed.

"Me, too!" Colette joined him and stared hopefully at Zelos, who was still holding onto the box of chocolates.

With a sigh of defeat, he held out the box and let the teenagers take their share of the treat. Presuming that Presea and Genis would also want some chocolate, Zelos looked towards them, "Hey, twerp. Wanna go ahead and take some?" When there came no answer, Zelos realized that they had both fallen asleep. "Cute," he said while observing the sleeping children. After that, he snuggled back into bed with Sheena and they ate what remained of the chocolate, while Lloyd and Colette had returned to their corner of the room.

Outside, Regal emerged, shouting about how wrong it was for Genis and Presea to be together. That did not last long, however, because Raine whacked him with her staff since she was trying to have a conversation with Kratos. Rejected, Regal returned to playing the role-playing board game with Dirk. They made it all the way to the Castle of Brimstone when they were slain by a dragon. And that was the best Valentine's Day ever.

_**#-))Happy Valentine's Day!((-#**_

-

Honestly, as I went on writing this chapter, I had no clue where I was going. XD This is somehow how it ended up. Not bad, not bad... more fluffy than funny, though (towards the end, anyway). Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it! The next chapter will be... _(thinks)_ Holy crap, what **is** the next chapter going to be? I guess I'll have to figure that out when the time comes... bye, everyone and please review!


	4. St Dwarftrick's Day

Okay, it's time for another holiday! (Sorry for it being late) Thanks to you all for reminding me of the upcoming holidays! I almost completely forgot about St. Patrick's Day and Easter! Well, a good point was brought up in one of the reviews: there is no St. Patrick in the setting of Tales of Symphonia. But, I still didn't want to leave this holiday out... so I thought, what do people associate with St. Patrick's Day? Green... clovers... leprechauns... and beer. Wow. Even before writing this chapter, I know it's going to be strange. I shall call it... St. Dwarftrick's Day! Ahem... Here are the responses to reviews:

To Miokiu – Heh, heh... I don't even know what I was thinking when I talked about 'Dirk's love shack', but I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!

To shadowfox5 – I'm glad I've managed to get you to enjoy a random-humour story. _(feels as though she accomplished something)_ And there shall be more Sheena and Zelos; plenty more. Hell, it's my favourite pairing, after all! XD

To kuramagirl44 – Yes! Share the love! Ahem... St-Patrick's Day, yes! Thank you for reminding me of this holiday! I would've totally forgotten about it...

To Freakyleaf – Fluffy and funny is _totally_ the best combo. And that was my aim with the board game part; to confuse your petty minds! Mwahaha! (I'm just kidding. Your mind isn't petty. :P)

To rice8369 – Don't worry, dude! Slowly but surely, Kratos and Raine are hooking up. I can assure you of that. _(smile)_

To Cerse Liminara – Yes, of course! St. Patty's Day it is! Well... kind of. Y'know, they don't really have a St. Patrick... and poor Zelos! Thou art so cruel to him!

To lordoshadows – Hm... that's strange. I can see the entire Christmas chapter on my computer... And Easter's going to be coming soon! It shall be... interesting.

To Begley – The next chapter is **now**! Er... yeah... Thank you very much for your comments. I'm going to try and tone down making Regal extremely weird, because you were definitely right in saying that and overused thing.

To RPGs r the BEST! – Well, I'm managing to get a St. Patrick's Day in! Kind of... ah well. Aw man, I forgot about April Fool's Day!

To Shadowed Fear – Alright, now I have a list of holidays that I must write about! Time to get started!

And now, onward with the chapter... Oh! And the very beginning of the chapter is somewhat something that happened in my friend's math class. :D

Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Tales of Symphonia.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

)Chapter 4 – St. Dwarftrick's Day!(

"Okay, class," Raine scribbled several algebraic equations down on the chalkboard located at the front of the room. She stepped back, admired her handiwork for a moment, and then turned to face her students, "Looking at the second of these problems, can you identify the type of equation that it is, using the prefix 'bi'?"

Considering that this was the first time that anyone in the class had ever seen these different types of equations, they were not aware that she was looking for the word 'binomial'. Everyone remained silent in hopes that at least _one_ student would be able to take a guess. As fate had it, one student _did_ take a guess: "Bisexual!" ...although it was far from serious.

Exhaling loudly, Raine tapped her foot impatiently and sent a glare towards the smartass student. "No!" she snapped, but quickly forced herself to calm down and continue the lesson, "In all seriousness, consider what makes up these equations, and tell me—what is the third one called, using the prefix 'tri'?"

"_Tri_sexual?"

"**NO**!" Raine whipped the chalk in her hand at the student. He yelped, swiftly diving off of his seat and crashing to the floor to avoid being hit. "Mo_nomial_, bi_nomial_, tri_nomial_ and poly_nomial_! That's what these equations are; they don't state what gender a person prefers sexually!" The Professor took a deep breath and picked up another piece of chalk that was left on the board's ledge, "Now, each of these equations is factored in a different way. A monomial cannot be factored, but the others can," she began scribbling something on the second equation, "Firstly, with a binomial—"

"Oh, my ultra gorgeous beauuutyyyy!"

Raine lowered her head miserably, letting the chalk trail down the board with a screech. "Someone, save me... I give up," she muttered under her breath before looking towards the doorway, "Zelos, what are you doing here?"

Tethe'alla's Chosen strode into the classroom and glanced at the students before replying, "Altessa wanted me to invite you, Lloyd, Colette and Genis to his house to celebrate something called 'St. Dwarftrick's Day'. So that's why I'm here."

"Was it necessary to do so when I was in the middle of teaching? Couldn't you approach us separately before or after school, or even during a break or lunch hour?" Raine questioned, staring daggers at Zelos.

"Well, yeah," Zelos responded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, "But why would I do that if I could just get it over with all at once? It just seems more efficient."

Raine angrily tapped her chalk against the board repeatedly, "Maybe for _you_, but not for _me_ nor my _students_! **Get out**!" Zelos simply continued to stand in the room, grinning like an idiot as always. The Professor dropped her chalk onto the ledge and began approaching Zelos with a violent look in her eyes. The swordsman gulped and began backing away, pleading that she be gentle on him. "Do _not_ disrupt my class!" Raine shouted before kicking Zelos outside and slamming the door behind him. Coolly, she meandered back into the classroom, picked up the piece of chalk and began writing on the board, "As I was saying, a binomial can only be factored if it is a difference of squares..."

Everyone in the classroom was wearing nervous smiles (except for Colette, who was simply giddy as it was) and they simply nodded along with anything that Raine said, even if they did not understand. Sure, they had seen the Professor's wrath before, but... wow. Poor Zelos. Only Lloyd and Genis had ever felt that kind of pain at the hands – or foot – of Miss Sage. And so, stunned to silence, the class droned along until finally, the bell rang. It was a joyous moment as all of the students leapt up from their seats and made a dash for the door... all except for Lloyd, Colette and Genis, of course. The three best friends joined Raine at the front of the classroom, and Genis piped up, "So, Raine, are we going to be going to Altessa's house?"

The Professor gathered up some papers into a pile and neatly placed them on her desk. "I suppose so," she answered at last, "But we'll have to go and find Zelos if we hope to learn more about this... St. Dwarftrick's Day." The two teenagers plus Genis all nodded their heads in agreement. Without any more words being exchanged, the small group exited the schoolhouse.

Outside, Zelos was waiting for them. They guessed that he had simply decided to lounge around in front of the school and watch the hunnies go by until he could speak to his friends. "Finally!" Zelos exclaimed as soon as he saw his buddies walk outside, "Are you all ready to go?"

"Go...?" Raine repeated, blinking several times, "..._now_?"

"Yeah," Zelos beamed, "St. Dwarftrick's Day is today, so we have to get over to Altessa's right away!"

Steam almost seemed to erupt from Raine's ears out of frustration, "Zelos! How long have you known about this holiday?" she demanded an immediate answer.

The Chosen of Tethe'alla paused for a moment in consideration, "Um... couple weeks, I guess. Why?"

"You... you..." Raine clenched her teeth, looking fiercely at Zelos, "How did you manage to procrastinate so much!" she screamed, advancing on Zelos with that familiar, murderous stare.

"Oh no..." Zelos murmured, backing up, "Not again!"

_/Spontaneous setting change/_

Zelos whimpered quietly as ice was placed on his sore torso. "Take it like a man. They're only bruises," Sheena stated, observing the minor injuries that Raine had inflicted upon Zelos.

"...Can you kiss it better?" the swordsman asked, looking hopefully at Sheena.

After short contemplation, Sheena responded: "No."

"I try," Zelos sighed sadly, "and yet I always seem to fail." Sheena laughed softly before leaning forward and granting Zelos a light kiss on his lips. He grinned, "Thank you, hunny, I suddenly feel so much better!" The summoner rolled her eyes as Zelos jumped up to his feet, only to cringe at a sharp pain and fall back down to his seat, "Ah, jeez... I'm starting to think that the nickname 'Violent Demonic Banshee' is more suitable for Raine than for you..."

"I can only hope," Sheena remarked, tossing Zelos his shirt and vest. He quickly put his clothes back on, covering the aching bruises on his chest. "Come on. Let's go back to the others." Sheena gripped both of Zelos' hands and pulled him up to a standing position. The almighty Chosen threw an arm over Sheena's shoulders and relied on her to aid him in walking. True, he could certainly walk on his own, but it hurt less this way... and, of course, it was _Sheena_ helping him.

Meanwhile, all of the other friends had gathered inside of Altessa's house and were hearing the tale of this 'St. Dwarftrick'. Apparently, he was a great man... dwarf. And that was about all there was to it, on account of the fact that no one really had a clue what exactly it was that had made St. Dwarftrick so special that he got his own holiday. Altessa explained that through time, the meaning of the holiday was drowned in traditions involving the treasure of leprechauns, wearing green, and getting wasted. "So it's custom to wear green on St. Dwarftrick's day?" Colette asked.

"I suppose that's how it is now," replied the dwarven craftsman, "Whenever a person doesn't wear green on St. Dwarftrick's Day, it's pinchy pinchy. But only those wearing green have the right to pinch, of course!"

There was a moment of hesitation as the heroes pondered on what they had decided to wear on that particular day. Regal was dressed in his formal outfit, which conveniently consisted of a lovely green jacket. Colette wore her regular clothes, but for some reason had on her maid bonnet... which was green. Presea had a cute green ribbon in her hair. Due to one of Genis' annoying-little-sibling moments that Raine had not yet noticed, she had green streaks in her hair. Kratos was there, too; one of his belts was a bright green because he was aware of these traditions.

That left... Lloyd and Genis. Neither was wearing green. At all. Nada. Completely and utterly un-green. A devious glint shone in the eyes of everyone but the two boys as they looked onward, studying the distinct lack of green. Then, in unison, they all said... "Pinchy, pinchy!"

All the while, Sheena and Zelos were still trudging towards the house. Suddenly, a scream erupted from the building ahead. "What was that about?" Zelos piped up, blinking. Sheena could simply shrug absent-mindedly. Tethe'alla's Chosen set his questions aside and glanced towards Sheena, finally processing something different about her appearance, "Hey, you're wearing a green ribbon-thingy!" he observed, pointing to the 'green ribbon-thingy' that was tied around the summoner's waist.

"Yeah," Sheena stated, her voice hinting that it was normal for her ribbon to be green. She then looked Zelos up and down, coming to a realization, "You're not wearing any green!"

"Of course not. That's an ugly colour."

Sheena quickly shook her head, "No, no, Zelos. You _have_ to wear green on St. Dwarftrick's Day! If you don't, well..." she paused, recalling the cries of pain that had come from Altessa's house, "...I think I know why there was screaming just a minute ago." Zelos was still confused, and he simply stared at Sheena enquiringly. "Zelos, if you don't wear green on St. Dwarftrick's Day, everyone will pinch you."

"Oh," Zelos murmured before even completely grasping her statement. And when he _did_ fully grasp it, his reaction changed. "Oh, crap! I need green! I can't let my beautiful bod be pinched to the point of... of... heinousity!"

"Relax," Sheena demanded coolly. She gripped her ribbon and tore a long piece of it off. "Come here." Zelos complied and approached the summoner. She reached out towards Zelos and undid his headband, afterwards replacing it with the torn fabric. "There. Now you and your bod aren't in any danger."

Zelos beamed, "Thank you, milady!"

With a roll of her eyes, Sheena began walking towards the house only to be held back as Zelos locked his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. "Zelos, what are you doing?" the summoner asked, her voice completely calm.

"Do we _have_ to go inside?" the Chosen enquired, tightening his hold around Sheena. He leaned closer and kissed her neck softly.

"Yes. We _do_," Sheena casually pushed Zelos backwards and proceeded on her way to the house. Zelos gave a sad sigh before following the ninja inside where everyone was pointing and laughing at Lloyd and Genis. Sheena blinked a few times, and then took notice of the fact that neither Genis nor Lloyd were wearing green, and that there were multiple red pinch marks wherever their skin was visible.

Zelos snickered, "Ha ha! Losers!"

"Shut up!" Lloyd retorted, "It's not like _you're_ wearing any..." his voice trailed off as he noticed Zelos' green headband, "Damnit, no fair! Sheena helped you!"

"Life isn't fair, my friend," Tethe'alla's Chosen smirked, which only made Lloyd want to pinch the hell out of him... but alas, he was not permitted to do so. Woe was Lloyd.

Altessa stepped forward, an opaque bottle of something in his hand, "Don't fret about a thing, Lloyd. A big part of St. Dwarftrick's Day is overcoming the pain of pinch-attacks. Tabatha, fetch me a glass." The robotic girl replied with a 'yes, master' (in all upper case letters, of course) and then went to the kitchen. The group stood in unnatural silence until Tabatha returned and placed an empty glass on the table. Altessa almost immediately began pouring the bottles contents into it. The moment that he did, the distinct scent of vodka wafted into the air.

"Altessa!" Raine shouted, automatically holding a hand over her nose, "You're not implying that these children should drink _alcohol_ to resolve their pain?"

The craftsman gave her a confused look, "Why not?"

"It really has nothing to do with us," Genis explained, "You see, Raine has a drinking problem." **Slap**! "Ow! Jeez, Raine! Why are you punishing me for telling the truth?" the younger half-elf whined, clutching his head to suppress the pain caused his sister's wrath. Naturally, this statement only provoked Raine, and she smacked him again.

Whilst the half-elf siblings resolved their argument with violence, Lloyd and Zelos were staring longingly at... the alcohol, of course! "Man, that looks appetizing," Zelos remarked, breathing in the scent of the sweet, sweet vodka.

"Looks and smells kind of gross to me..." commented Lloyd, "...and yet, I can't help but want to chug it down!"

Altessa chuckled, "Ah, yes. That is the power of dwarven vodka." He poured two more glasses of the drink and then pushed them towards the boys. "Drink up!" he implored, "No one's going to stop you!" Zelos and Lloyd glanced towards each other, gave a nod, and then picked the glasses up in unison and poured the alcohol down their throats. Altessa grinned and downed his own glass of dwarven vodka.

"Alcohol..." Regal murmured, "...the root of all evil."

"I thought the expression was 'money is the root of all evil'?" Sheena questioned, staring at Regal blankly.

The president of Lezareno scoffed, "Nonsense! Money is the root of all things good!" Sheena muttered a half-hearted 'oh' while continuing to stare at Regal sceptically.

It did not take too long for the effects of alcohol to set in on Lloyd and Zelos. "You know, I _would_ wear green," Lloyd began in a profound, yet drunken, tone of voice, "but it's just... it's not easy being green, you know? When I was little, I always wore green, and it made me **sad**! My mommy died, my daddy transformed into a dwarf..."

"Lloyd, I didn't transform into Dirk. I simply vanished," Kratos spoke up with his levelheaded opinion, "And please, call me either Kratos, Dad, or Father... _never_ 'Daddy'. Even when you were young, you did not call me 'Daddy'. You called me Spiderman."

Colette giggled, "Lloyd called you Spiderman?" Kratos nodded slightly. "That's so cute!" Sylvarant's Chosen exclaimed, mentally picturing a mini-Lloyd wearing green and chasing after Kratos shouting 'Spiderman'.

Lloyd's face turned red as he slumped down into a chair, dropping his head onto the table, "Daaad..." he whined, "Don't tell Colette about the humiliating things I did as a kid..." Kratos shook his head slowly to himself, and Colette giggled again. "So anyway, like I was saying, green _sucks_!" Lloyd lifted his head and glanced about the room, taking note of everything green. First he pointed to Presea's green bow, "You suck!" and then Raine's green-streaked hair, "You also suck!" and then Zelos' bandana, "And you suck!" and then Sheena's green ribbon, "You suck, too!" and then Kratos' green belt, "And you also suck!" and then Genis whom lacked green, "...You're cool, man," and then Colette's green bonnet, "I could never say that you suck," and finally, Regal's green jacket, "_You_ suck most of all!"

With that out of his system, Lloyd collapsed onto the table, suddenly snoring loudly. "I guess his system just couldn't handle it," Altessa observed, poking at Lloyd a few times.

"I warned you that his tolerance was low," said Raine.

Genis looked at his sister for a moment, hesitant to speak the thought lingering in his mind. Ah, what the hell – he went for it! "Raine, all you did was yell at him about the implication behind his statement." He was right to be hesitant, because Raine gave him a casual whack upside the head. "Owww! Remind me to never speak my mind again!"

"Most certainly," Raine agreed, "I'll make a point of doing that."

"I'm going to bring Lloyd into one of the rooms," Colette announced, pulling on the swordsman's arm in an attempt to drag him onto his feet. She finally succeeded, but squeaked nervously as all of Lloyd's weight was put onto her and she was forced to hold him up. Not that Lloyd was particularly heavy, but Colette was rather small.

Altessa stepped forward and lifted Lloyd off of Colette, "Here, I'll help you bring him into the room." The blonde angel gave Altessa a smile that said 'thank you' and then followed him (with Lloyd) into the bedroom.

Kratos scrutinized the two half-filled glasses of vodka: one being Lloyd's, and the other being Altessa's. Temptation began to wash over him, and he suddenly understood what Lloyd meant by not being to help wanting to chug it down. "Go for it, man," Zelos' words came out slurred, but Kratos still manage to grasp the main message. He cautiously gripped the glass and then brought it to his lips, pausing there. "I said, **go for it**!" Zelos repeated, enunciating his words much better than previously. Complying, Kratos took a small sip of the vodka... Not particularly tasty, and yet he was compelled to continue drinking until he, too, was wasted.

"Oh no," Sheena sighed.

"What is it?" Raine asked. The summoner simply pointed towards Kratos; the almighty seraph was wobbling on his feet, a glass of alcohol in his hand. Raine then sighed in much the same way that Sheena had, "Oh no."

"Hey, Kratos, buddy!" Zelos exclaimed, throwing a friendly arm over his shoulders... Ironic, considering how Zelos could barely stand Kratos' ways, "Do you wanna know a secret?" Kratos gave a nod. "I love _her_," Tethe'alla's Chosen admitted, not specifying who 'her' was.

Kratos' eyes widened, "Oh my Goddess! You **do**!"

"Yeah!"

"Wow..."

Raine and Sheena were stunned to silence, and Regal and Presea were simply silent because they thought this entire thing rather ridiculous. Genis was rather terrified. "Hey, Zelos," Kratos spoke. His newfound buddy looked at him with interest. "Do you know who _I_ love?" Zelos shook his head in response. "I..." the seraph seemed to hesitate, "...I think I'm falling in love with _her_."

"**Her**!"

Kratos gave a slightly ashamed nod.

"Dude!"

Sheena clenched her fist, the frustration building up inside of her. "That's it! Who the hell are you two talking about! Is this 'her' the same person for both of you, or is this some drunkard means of communication!"

The two men chuckled slightly, glancing towards each other. It almost seemed as though they were speaking telepathically by the way that they grasped the meaning behind the expressions on each other's faces. Then, simultaneously, they turned towards Sheena and said, "'Her' is Genis!"

Needless to say, this made Genis even _more_ frightened. "Aah! Why me? I... Why do you love me! I'm not even a her! Why are you calling me 'her'! Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

Kratos and Zelos broke into a fit of laughter, giving each other high-fives for managing to trick Genis. _Obviously_ it wasn't _Genis_ that they were talking about! "That was an uncalled for thing to do," stated Raine, sending cold glares towards Zelos and Kratos.

The latter of the two lowered his head, feeling guilty as he felt Raine's stare pierce into him. Zelos, on the other hand, simply laughed and wandered over to where Sheena was standing. He wrapped his arms around her in an embrace and lowered his head onto her shoulder. "You know... you were _my_ 'her'," he said proudly.

"I'm _so_ honoured," the summoner responded sarcastically with a roll of her eyes, "C'mon. I think it's time for you to join Lloyd in the rehabilitation room." Zelos gave a groan in protest, however Sheena still persisted and pulled him into the bedroom. The moment that they entered the room, Colette lifted her head, breaking her gaze away from the sleeping Lloyd, and looked towards Sheena and Zelos. "Sorry for disturbing you, Colette," Sheena apologized, "but Zelos needs to sleep it off, too." She gently nudged Zelos forward so that he lifelessly collapsed onto an empty bed.

Colette gave her friend a bright smile, "Oh, it's fine," she insisted.

"Girls," Altessa's naturally gruff voice came from the other side of the room. Colette and Sheena turned their heads towards the dwarf to let him know that they were listening. "Why don't you go and bring the others in here so I can tell you all an exciting tale."

Without any hesitation, the two girls made their way to the main room where the others were still lounging about. Kratos' head was now cleared out, and he had come to his senses. "I apologize, Raine," he said, rubbing his temples in hopes of getting rid of the ache that was left behind. "It was foolish of me to begin drinking like that."

Raine gave a sigh, "I'm not one to judge you... at Christmas I myself had a little too much to drink." Her mind played back the moment that she had grabbed that Welgaia wine and downed it... What had triggered it? She now recalled how it was the instant that Kratos left that she had felt it necessary to have some alcohol.

"Hey, everyone!" Colette called to get their attention. Everyone in the room looked in her direction. "Altessa's going to tell us a story! Come on, let's go into the other room!" The others all agreed without question, and then they all meandered into the 'rehabilitation room', as Sheena had called it. "We're ready for the story, Altessa!" Colette announced cheerfully.

"Good. Then let's all have a seat, and listen closely." Colette immediately sat down next to Lloyd on his bed, and Sheena did the same with Zelos. Kratos and Raine occupied the third and final bed, leaving Regal and the 'kiddies' to sit on the floor. "Many a year ago, I was wandering through Gaoracchia Forest, on my way home. I hadn't even realized it, but it had been raining the entire time that I was inside of the woodland area; therefore, when I walked out into the field, there was a magnificent rainbow in the sky..."

As they sat and listened to the story, Raine felt something on her hand; rough in texture, yet at the same time seemed to warm up her skin. She looked down and that the man next to her had placed his hand on hers. The professor lifted her gaze to meet Kratos', and she gave him a contented smile, lacing her fingers with his. Through the emotionless expression that Kratos always wore, Raine could see a glimmer of bliss in his eyes. The two mature members of the group continued to stare at each other fondly, and it just so happened that Genis took notice to it; however nothing was said – that shall be saved for another time.

"...From what I saw, the rainbow almost seemed to be ending at my home. But of course, that was impossible – a rainbow has neither end nor beginning. I chose to ignore it, however that became difficult when I finally arrived home. I saw it! I saw the end of the rainbow! It was right on my front lawn!" Altessa was beginning to sound like a madman, but everyone hung onto his every word nonetheless. "And then, as I approached it, there was a leprechaun. There, in front of my very eyes! I walked up to the wee creature and greeted it. He then asked me for a potion. I, unfortunately, had none, so the leprechaun called me a loser, threw a rock at me, and scuttled away. My life was ever changed. The end."

A groan came from Lloyd as he forced himself into a seated position. "That wasn't a leprechaun," he murmured, attracting everyone's attention, "That was a gnomelette!"

"Hey... that's true!" Colette cried enthusiastically, "Altessa, that was a gnomelette that you saw all that time ago!"

The dwarven craftsman took a minute to reflect on his life. "I..." he stammered, "...I don't know what to believe anymore!" And with Altessa left with a life of uncertainty, St. Dwarftrick's Day came to an end. Wahoo. Loopledoo.

_**#))Happy St. Dwa— Patrick's Day!((#**_

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

Done, done! Finally done! Now I need to get started on Easter... _(groan)_ As a preview summary: while everyone partakes in a festive egg hunt, Lloyd and Genis search for the truth behind Kratos and Raine's relationship. What antics shall ensue? I don't even know yet! XD Bye for now!


	5. Easter

Okay, I'm doing Easter! I have ideas! Hooraaaay! Anyway, I'd like to give inspiration credit for this chapter to My Chemical Romance, because their music video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" is pretty damn funny. Even though I had written the majority of this chapter when I saw the music video, I'm still giving them inspiration credit. XD Now, onward to respond to reviews:

To Miokiu – Gasp! You got a detention for pinching people? That's lame. Mind you, my school would probably do the same thing, except for the fact that everyone would be wearing green because it's part of our uniform. XD

To Blissful Twilight – Thank you very much for your comments! _(smile)_ It's always nice to hear that I'm doing a good job and keeping people entertained.

To Adriatic – I wish they'd replace St. Patrick's Day with St. Dwarftrick's Day... maybe then I'd actually make a big deal about the holiday. XD Nah, I've never used the x10 EXP multiplier. By the end of the game, I hardly have any grade. It's really shameful, actually... _(lowers head)_ And thanks for the comments! I feel proud of my well-written brand of humour.

To kuramagirl44 – Ohh, Genis shall continue to get traumatized, my friend. It's like... part of his personality. Mwahaha, heehaha, nyahahahaha! o.0 I'm going Mithos-style-crazy.

To writerauthorguy – Wow... 'Lloyd' _does_ look like 'llama'... Excuse for a moment while I let this revelation sink in. (I'm actually being serious. I never noticed that before. XD)

To Lord Cynic – Yep! Two mature men getting wasted is always a good thing! ...Not that Zelos is really mature... but still! Oh, and... _(**pinch!**)_

To timmycheese – Sorry about the lack of Gesea! Unfortunately, there's also a lack of it in this chapter... I'll work on fitting some in next chapter, though.

To DeadEdBoy – Gesea is indeed the correct name combination. Somehow those things have gotten stuck in my head... o.0

To Ermanil Elfobbit – I read that Zelos is the Greek god of enthusiasm in this English literature book that we get in school... and I've also read a bit about it on the Internet. Kratos is also a Greek god, actually. _(can't remember what god he is, though)_

Disclaimer: If you believe that I own Tales of Symphonia, you're a crappy psychic! If you don't... well, you're just plain correct.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

)Chapter 5 – Easter!(

"And so, the painted eggs are hidden all across the resort. That includes the amusement park, hotel, and the beach. But _please_," Regal paused in the middle of his speech, making eye contact with each and every one of his friends before continue, "For the love of the goddess, _please_ do not tear apart the Lezareno company building! There is **nothing** hidden there!" The group of people standing in front of Regal all murmured a 'yeah, we know' in no means of unison. "Meet back at the company building! Have fun, children!"

Kratos sent a glare towards the president of Lezareno. "I'm older than you," he stated calmly. Regal merely gave a casual wave of his hand as if to say 'that's nice'. "Hmph," Kratos grunted softly, "This seems a pointless means of celebration to me." As though to back up his statement of dislike, the seraph turned around and wandered into the city, clearly with no intentions of searching for those pathetic painted eggs. Silently agreeing with Kratos' opinions, Raine sauntered off after him.

"You both fail to see the _enjoyment_!" Regal yelled after them, shaking his intimidating fist for a moment before clearing his throat. "Anyway... I certainly hope that the rest of you can find the fun in this Easter tradition here in Altamira! But for this year only, it's just _us_ in the resort! No competition from tourists!"

Zelos stared at Regal, his eyes wide and glistening with sadness, "So... no bunny mascots? No hot tanning chicks on the beach? Oh, Regal! What have you done to this glorious resort!"

"Ah, bliss..." Sheena sighed contentedly, "C'mon, Zelos. This place is enjoyable when there's no crowd." She gripped onto the back of Zelos' vest and dragged him off; the Chosen of Tethe'alla still teary-eyed due to the fact that there would be no women for him to gawk at.

Regal watched as Sheena and Zelos disappeared from sight, and then turned back to face the four that remained: Lloyd, Colette, Presea and Genis. The aristocrat opened his mouth his give more information on the egg hunt, but he never got the chance as Genis promptly grabbed Lloyd by the sleeve of his shirt. "Lloyd! Come with me—there's something that we need to do!" Lloyd gave his best friend a perplexed stare. "No questions!" Genis persisted, "Just come!" He then dragged Lloyd off in much the same fashion that Sheena and dragged off Zelos.

Annoyed by the fact that no one was paying particular attention to him, Regal prepared to make the remaining two girls listen to his information. Naturally, it was pointless, because Colette had already linked arms with Presea and was giving the girl a cheerful grin, "That leaves us as partners, Presea!" Sylvarant's Chosen beamed, "Ooh, this should be _fun_! We never had egg hunts in Iselia when I was growing up!"

A very small – almost unnoticeable – smile appeared on Presea's face as she gave the optimistic blonde a nod, "Yes. It most certainly be a new experience for both of us." The two girls scurried off, actually interested in finding the hidden eggs, which was very different from what everyone else had planned.

Poor Regal was left alone, never receiving the chance the lecture the 'children'. He sighed, pulling a cellular phone out of his pocket. After dialling in a number, he held the phone up to his ear. "Sebastian?" he asked the moment that he heard the 'click' of the other line being picked up, "Will you be my friend?" Obediently, the butler said 'yes', and the two new buddies conversed the entire day... But what did the others do?

Well, Genis was explaining to Lloyd what exactly his concerns were. "Have you noticed that, umm... a couple of people have been getting... _closer_ lately?" Genis was not sure how to word what it was that he wanted to say. There was no chance that he was just going to blurt out 'I think Raine and Kratos are an item!' No, no, no.

Lloyd blinked with that clueless demeanour of his. "Who? You and Presea?" Genis shook his head. "...Me and Colette?" Again, the young half-elf shook his head. "Sheena and Zelos? Everyone knows about them..."

"No! Lloyd!" Genis snapped, an unnatural level of frustration in his voice, "It's... it's..." he glanced around nervously, as though expecting Raine and Kratos to be around, eavesdropping on them. "...My sister and... your dad..."

"Oh my goddess!" Lloyd exclaimed, "Professor Raine has the hots for Dirk!"

"Not **that** Dad!"

Lloyd muttered a casual 'oh' before processing that he had a second father. "K... Kratos?" he stammered in disbelief. Genis nodded. "That's disgusting! Kratos and the Professor?" Again, his best friend nodded. "Wow, I really have too many fathers," Lloyd suddenly mused in a spontaneous change of subject.

"Lloyd, this is serious!" Genis whined, "We need to put a stop to this! Or... at least prove that my suspicions are true!" Lloyd tilted his head pryingly. "While everyone's focussed on their own little quests, or whatever, we have to stalk Raine and Kratos. We'll discreetly follow them everywhere and catch them in some romantic act! Just... hopefully it's nothing too disturbing." The suspender-wearing swordsman wrinkled his nose at the thought of romantic acts that were 'too disturbing'. As far as he was concerned, anything between his father and the professor was 'too disturbing'. "Lloyd!" Genis whispered hoarsely, pointing towards the Elemental Railway, "Raine and Kratos are boarding the railway! We have to follow them!" Lloyd nodded in agreement, and then they both ran off to the railway station. "Aw, man... we're stuck waiting for the next one..." Genis observed, watching as Kratos and Raine's elemental train skimmed the water rails, moving away from them. And waiting was exactly what they did.

Meanwhile, Sheena and Zelos were on the beach. "How is it that I always end up spending time with you when our group of friends gets together?" the Mizuho native asked.

"It's fate!" Zelos beamed, wrapping his arms around Sheena's waist tightly in a hug, "This is the only time we have together, so we may as well use it." Sheena could not resist laughing good-naturedly at the Chosen's actions and response. Zelos continued to cling onto the summoner until something – or some_one_ – caught his eye. "Wow! The resort wasn't left _totally_ deserted!" he announced gleefully, letting go of Sheena and flouncing over to the beach's beverage hut, which was being run by (you guessed it) a gorgeous bunny woman. "Why, hello there, hunny!" Zelos greeted, propping his elbows onto the counter and admiring the beauty behind it. "That Altamira bunny uniform certainly is appropriate around Easter, isn't it? Of course, on _your_ figure it could always be considered appropriate."

The woman giggled at Zelos' lame lines. "So can I get you anything, Chosen?"

"As a matter of fact, you can."

Sheena walked over to one of the lounge chairs in a huff, lying down on it while choosing to ignore anything that Zelos did. Sure, he was just joking around, and she knew that, but she still had to admit that she was jealous. "I got a drink for you, milady!" Zelos stated, standing next to Sheena's resting spot. The summoner simply waved him away. "Aw... don't you appreciate what I do for you?" the swordsman questioned sadly, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Not usually," Sheena replied dully.

"Hmm..." Zelos set both beverages down on a small table that was set up near the drink cabana. "Well, then. Do you appreciate _me_?" he asked, lying down on the lounge chair next to Sheena. She gave an objection, saying that there was not enough room for both of them, but he ignored her, instead closing his arms around her and holding her close to him. "Say you appreciate me," Zelos whispered in her ear, "Or better yet, say you love me."

"Zelos, the beach's environment is boiling enough without you holding onto me like that... plus, we're going to fall off of this thing," Sheena persisted, "And I _would_ laugh if it were just you falling, but it would be both of us... and that will make me angry." Zelos snickered and snuggled closer to Sheena, which she would have enjoyed had he not been contradicting her like a child. As she noticed how close to falling off of the chair she was, she tried to move back a little, but Zelos was too close to her. "Z-Zelos," she said nervously, trying to look over at him... although that was apparently the wrong movement to make, because she – and only she – toppled over the side of the chair and dropped into the sand. "Damnit, Zelos!" Sheena shouted, looking up at the Chosen who was now having a fit of side-splitting laughter. "You jerk! Get down here!" she grabbed onto his leg that was closest to her and tugged on it, pulling him down onto the ground with her.

Zelos was still in high spirits, though. "This scenario seems familiar, doesn't he?" he commented with a grin as he towered over Sheena, "The falling off of something, the me joining you... I can only hope that this ends up the way that I think it will!"

Sheena's face flushed, "Honestly! For it to happen again... And on a beach? Don't get your hopes up, you pervert!"

"Fine!" Zelos grumbled, "Then can I at least get some kisses?" Sheena gave him an approving nod, a smile present on her lips. He leaned down to kiss her, but was rather easily distracted, "Ooh, turtle eggs!"

"_What_?" Sheena shouted, extremely confused. Zelos folded his arms and rested them on her chest. "Ah, jeez... Off, Zelos! You're heavy!" He did not get off, although he did motion to something behind her in response to the original 'what?' "Zelos, I won't be able to see where you're pointing out while you're on top of me."

"Guess you'll just have to deal with not seeing it, then."

"Get off of me," Sheena demanded, but never gave him a chance to do it himself because she pushed him off. She rolled over onto her stomach and found... turtle eggs. A nest of them. "Oh. There are actually turtle eggs," she murmured, staring blankly at them. Then, she noticed that amongst the plain white, round eggs, there was one that was one that was bigger and... colourful. "Hey, this must be one of those painted eggs that Regal was talking about!" Sheena noted, picking it up.

Zelos inched closer to her again, "I guess we might as well bring it with us for when we rejoin everyone else."

"Well, we _could_," Sheena smirked, "but I'd prefer to do this!" she crushed the egg over Zelos' head, causing the clear slime and yellow yolk to ooze onto Zelos' perfectly tended to hair.

The Chosen let out a horrified cry, touching the top of his head in disbelief, "You... you..." He bounded to his feet, "I'm going to find more eggs to get my payback!" With that, he scrambled off in search of some ammo.

"Not if I get more first!"

So while those two were acting childish and pummelling each other with eggs, Colette and Presea were taking the activity seriously while searching around the empty amusement park. "I found another one!" Colette announced, waving a tie-dye coloured egg in the air. She began skipping towards her friend, still flailing the egg around.

"Colette, you may want to slow down..."

"Why—aah!" You guessed it. Colette tripped. The eggs flew out of her hand and landed on top of the teacup ride's control panel. "Oops..." she said nervously, looking over to the ride's control as the egg's contents seeped into it, causing sparks to fly in all directions. "Oh, no! I must have broken it!" She hurried over to investigate what exactly had happened when she heard a surprised yelp come from Presea. Colette turned her head to see what had frightened Presea... As chance would have it, the taciturn girl had been hunting for eggs on the teacups when Colette had tripped... _and_ it just so happened that as a result of Colette's clumsiness, the ride had begun to move. "Oh no! Presea! I'm sorry – let me try to help!"

Presea latched onto one of the teacups and quickly shook her head, "N... No. Colette, I will manage to get off. Just please, do _not_ try to help me." The girl was too polite to come out and say 'you'll only make things worse', but the point was received as Colette backed off a little. Presea glimpsed around desperately as the ride began to spin faster and faster. "Colette!" she called out, tightening her hold on the teacup, "Please look for something above me that I could reach if I jumped up!"

"Ah... okay," Colette agreed uncertainly. She looked upward to see if there was anything that made a good grip. "Oh!" the blonde angel exclaimed as she took notice of something, "The roller coaster tracks!" her eyes followed the tracks until they were above the teacup ride, "They go right across the centre of the teacups!" The she-axeman gave a strained nod before trudging towards the middle of the ride. Still spinning around and around, she forced herself to look towards the sky. Through the brilliance of the sun, she could make out the rails above her. Now it was all a matter of timing... a _difficult_ matter of timing because – as was mentioned – she was _spinning_. Cautiously, Presea stretched her arms up to try and reach the tracks without having to jump, but that did not suffice. Her head spinning as much as the ride was, Presea leapt up and attempted to grasp onto the rail... Success! "Presea! Will you be able to get down?" Colette shouted to her friend.

Groaning, Presea struggled to keep a hold on the rails, "Y... yes." As though swinging on monkey bars, she made her way along the tracks until she was out of the teacup ride's vicinity. "Colette, please catch me." After a moment of confusion, Sylvarant's Chosen gave a nod and held out her arms in anticipation. Presea was... hesitant. This would almost certainly end in hurting. "Oh well," the lumberjack sighed, opening her hands and letting go. She fell not-so-gracefully into Colette's arms, which in turn caused the blonde to fall down under Presea's weight. It was rather painful, but overall they were both fine.

"Now we can continue our egg hunt!" Colette said gleefully.

Presea stared at her in horror. "Please... when you find an egg, inform me and _I_ shall place it in our basket."

Back to Lloyd and Genis... Once the elemental train had returned, they asked the engineer where it was that they had taken their last passengers. Of course, he could not give these random children that classified information, so they bribed him with threats... threats with their weapons. Threats like: 'tell us or else we'll slice/eruptify your head off!' Obviously, the engineer cherished his head more than the privacy of two random people, so he explained that they had gone to the casino-theatre area. And then – after another threat – the driver agreed to take Lloyd and Genis there. Now, they were intently eavesdropping on Kratos and Raine's conversation. The two adults were sitting in the small pub outside of the casino, and Lloyd and Genis were hiding nearby. It was so convenient that the pub had no door/walls whatsoever.

"Raine, my past was something that I would rather forget, and yet I can't... Love has never ended well for me."

The professor nodded slightly, "You mean... Anna?"

"Hmm?" Kratos shook his head, "No, no. Well... yes, although that is most certainly true, I had many more loves throughout my four-thousand years of life. In fact, my first love was..."

**Flashback**

_Kratos sat on a fallen tree trunk, staring nervously at the woman sitting next to him. She had long green hair, and wore an elegant green gown with golden lining. "Martel, I know that this may sound completely ridiculous to you, but..."_

_"Kratos, what are you talking to Martel about?" The future seraph turned to the source of the voices to find Yuan and Mithos looking at him accusingly. Kratos screamed out of pure fear, jumped up, and ran away. They all watched as he jumped onto Noishe, and the 'dog' galloped off into the sunset. Yuan shook his head to himself and then went to go and sit down next to Martel only to find that Mithos had already taken advantage of the free seat. "What the—Mithos! Can I please talk to Martel for a moment?"_

_Mithos challenged Yuan with a chilling glare. "Why? She's **my** sister?"_

_"Well she's **my** fiancé!" The two boys then jumped at each other's throats and commenced a pointless and very unprofessional wrestling match. Martel watched in amusement._

**End that flashback**

"And then there was the time just about a millennia ago..."

**Another flashback**

_"So, I was wondering if maybe..."_

_"Isn't Yggdrasill's Age of Lifeless Beings an ingenious plan? Once it is put into play, the angels of Derris-Kharlan will have the chance to live on the earth, and all discrimination will fade."_

_Tears filled Kratos' eyes as he stared at the lifeless, female angel, "What is it with you and Yggdrasill! He's all that you ever talk about! I try to tell you how much I care for you, and yet you... you..." He ran away, stifling back sobs._

**No more flashbacks!**

"I... can tell that your approach of love has been altered a lot through the years," Raine observed, "and I must admit that I am glad that it has. Your new views and personality... it's very intriguing to me."

Kratos merely nodded. He preferred not to talk about those past instances... although since it was only Raine listening, it did not bother him too much. "I understand that you have had some troubled relationships in the past, as well." Raine lowered her head sadly. "They were problematic in different ways than mine were, but I still understand the sorrow that you must have felt."

"I must admit," Raine continued to cast her gaze downwards, "It's reassuring to me that you had so many experiences because... _I _really haven't... I'm frightened to fall in love again, in fear of it ending as terrible as it did in my last relationship."

Kratos casually took Raine's hand in his, as he had done during their St. Dwarftrick's Day celebration, and looked at her, "Raine, I understand your fears very well. And still, I believe that there is still a possibility for both of us to find romance again. Perhaps, this romance can be found..." he hesitated to go on further, but Raine could grasp what it was that he wanted to say. And so did two nosy eavesdroppers.

"Aah! Genis wasn't joking! They **are** becoming a couple! That is so wrong!"

Alarmed, Raine and Kratos released each other's hands and quickly glanced towards Lloyd's voice. As soon as they saw the two boys – Genis desperately trying to shut Lloyd up – they were no longer alerted, but they were angry. The professor was the first to act on her annoyance. She jumped up from her bar stool and began walking towards them, "How much... have you children... heard?" They both smiled sheepishly. "Regret your eavesdropping ways!"

"Nooooo!"

And now, we return to Regal, who was now in the Lezareno company building while still talking on the phone with Sebastian. "So... have you been Zelos' butler for long? Wow! Twenty-two years, you say?" Regal exclaimed in disbelief, "That means that you've been taking care of him for his entire life! Uh huh... humiliating childhood stories? Do tell!"

Just then, Zelos' voice called from the entrance of the Lezareno building, "Hey, Regal! We're back!"

"Damn!" the president slammed the cellular phone shut and looked towards Zelos and Sheena, "Well, welcome back and, umm... uh..." he hesitated, staring them up and down – their entire bodies splattered with egg contents and grains of sand, "...What in Tethe'alla have you two been doing this entire time?" Then, the realization donned upon him, "Did you break my eggs?" Sheena and Zelos both broke into a fit of laughter. "You ruined all of the fun... both of you! And you're filthy!"

"Oh, that's okay," Zelos replied casually, "I'll just have to lick the egg off of every inch of Sheena's body."

Sheena gave him a playful shove, her face going through a dozen shades of red. "That's gross on so many levels!" she retorted. Tethe'alla's Chosen merely chuckled as he hugged her tightly, the summoner giving objections even though she did not mean them. Regal heaved a blatantly annoyed sigh. "Sorry, Regal," Sheena apologized... although she really wasn't sorry for anything. She thought that blue-haired man was being a stiff.

"Well, you can be forgiven as long as you both stop fooling around," Regal stated.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Zelos' mouth, "But fooling around is what I do best," he commented slyly.

"Honestly, Zelos, how many inappropriate remarks can one make within the time period of five minutes?" Regal inquired. That ever-present smirk on Zelos' face provided enough of a response for him. "Never mind," Lezareno's president sighed again, "But why did you even take time to show up here if you had no intention to partake in the festivities?"

Zelos released Sheena from his embrace and then wandered over to Regal, leaning closer and whispering in the older man's ear, "If you must know, I want to take part in _one_ egg hunt." Regal blinked enquiringly at Zelos. The Chosen continued in his hushed tone, "I actually wanted my sperm to hunt for eggs in Sheena's fallopian tubes!"

"**Zelos**!" Regal shouted in pure incredulity, an embarrassed blush present on his cheeks, "You're very lucky that none of our younger, more innocent companions are present! That is _truly_ an improper statement."

Tethe'alla's Chosen laughed at Regal's reaction. "Zelos, _what_ did you say?" Sheena demanded harshly.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Zelos insisted casually, "Anyway, Regal, I'm only making these comments because none of the immature ones are here."

Regal folded his arms in front of his torso, "Zelos, everything that comes out of your mouth is far more immature than any of our friends." The redheaded Chosen looked down at the ground ashamedly.

"Hello, everyone!" Colette cheery voice greeted as she pranced into the room, "Presea and I found _so_ many eggs!" she announced, holding up a basket that contained a rainbow of coloured eggs.

Zelos cautiously took a step backwards, "Uh... Colette, is it safe for you to be carrying all of those eggs like that?" he asked in reference of her infamous tendency to fall down. Sheena shuddered, memories of the effects of that klutziness flooding her mind.

Presea gave a nod of understanding, "After spending the day with Colette, I absolutely comprehend your concerns." Everyone thought it best not to ask any questions involving Presea's dishevelled appearance. The pink-haired girl glanced around, "Where are Genis and the others? Have they not yet arrived?"

Regal shook his head. "No, they—"

"For the love of the goddess, **save us**!" They all looked towards the entrance of the room and watched in silence as Raine and Kratos entered dragging Lloyd and Genis by their ears. (Raine dragging Genis and Kratos dragging Lloyd, if you must know) "Abuse! Abuse!" Lloyd cried as Kratos released the hold he had on his son, "Parental abuse!" Raine let go of Genis and then smacked her worst student upside the head. "Aah!" Lloyd whined, "Now even the Professor's disciplining me!"

Colette tilted her head innocently, "Hasn't Professor Sage always disciplined you?"

"Yeah, but now it's just creepy because—" Whack! "Aw, jeez! You can't hide it forever!" Lloyd warned, sending glares to both his father and his teacher.

"What's... going on?" Sheena dared to question.

"Nothing," Raine assured in a completely calm and trustworthy tone, "We just brought Easter treats for all of you!" The glamorous beauty dropped a bag down onto Regal's desk, "You can fight over who gets what amongst yourselves." Colette and Zelos enthusiastically dived for the goodies, while Presea calmly began digging through them and picked out some tasty looking things to eat. Even Regal took a couple of little chocolate eggs to munch on. "Do you not like sweets, Sheena?" Raine asked, observing how the summoner had not joined in the frenzy.

Sheena shook her head, "No, no. I _do_ enjoy them, but..." she looked at Lloyd and Genis who were choosing to simply stand there obediently instead of stuffing their faces as they would usually do, "never mind. I'm just overthinking some stuff," Sheena said, convincing herself more than anyone else. She joined the others in pigging out on chocolate, choosing to think nothing of how peculiar Lloyd and Genis were acting.

Speaking of the two boys, they were forcing themselves not to speak a word. Oh, how badly they wanted to share what they had witnessed! But Kratos was there, standing right behind them, staring at them with that creepy, detached gaze of his. "So," Regal began, glancing towards the silent best friends, "Did you boys go out and find any decorated eggs?"

"I _wish_ we had spent our time to search for eggs!" Lloyd shouted, "Then maybe I would have actually had some fun, or just left with a smidgen of hope for my—" Kratos coolly covered his mouth.

"Umm... so... you're saying that Presea and Colette were the only ones who actually took this egg hunt seriously?" Regal questioned.

Colette clasped her hands together, a sense of sympathy in her eyes, "Oh, that's terrible! The _Easter bunny_ had gone through all of that effort for us, and hardly anyone even tried!" Regal sank down into his chair and bashed his head against his desk repeatedly. "Ah... did I... say something wrong...?"

_**#))Happy Easter!((#**_

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

There, done! I managed to get it done! Phew... now the question is... what holiday is coming up? _(is at a blank)_ I know there's April Fool's Day, but that is **way** too soon, and I really don't feel like doing it. XD So what comes after that? Reminders are appreciated!

Anyway, until whatever holiday is coming up next... Sayonara! (Oh, and I'll make an effort to put in some Gesea next time because I realize that there really hasn't been any in the last couple of chapters!)


End file.
